Fire temporarily closes Barnwell childcare center

A Mother’s Day celebration was interrupted by a fire at a local childcare center.

New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church Child Development Center was in the middle of their Muffins for Mom event on Friday, May 12 when they noticed flames and smoke coming from the air conditioning unit outside. Firefighters were dispatched to the Marlboro Avenue building at 8:46 a.m., according to the report.

“We arrived on scene and found there were smoke conditions in the structure. Flames were visible below the window at the HVAC unit,” said Fire Chief Tony Dicks.

Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and performed a preliminary search to ensure no one was inside. Thankfully, all children, employees, and guests had already evacuated. No injuries were reported.

“This is a result of monthly fire drill practices. I thank God for that,” said Rev. Steve Butterfield. His church has operated the center for 17 years.

Firefighters extinguished the fire before it caused major damage to the building, which is an old house made of fat lighter. Fire damage was contained to the exterior wall and HVAC unit. There was “moderate” smoke inside, but no significant damage, said Dicks.

“This had the potential to be a lot worse,” said Dicks, especially if the fire happened after hours.

“We are thankful for the quick response of the fire department,” said Butterfield.

Butterfield thanks Barnwell Primary School (BPS) Principal Donna Selvey and Barnwell District 45 Superintendent Dr. Crissie Stapleton for opening the BPS auditorium, which is across the street, to students and employees during the evacuation. He thanks school resource officer Elizabeth Bozard for her “outstanding assistance” during and after the event, Amy Bozard from Save the Children for assisting and giving out books to the children, and the entire BPS staff for their help. Doris Davis, a licensing specialist from DSS, also assisted.

“Barnwell may not be a perfect town/city, but it sure is a loving and caring community,” said Butterfield.

The fire department determined the gas pack furnace unit was the source of the fire. Firefighters disconnected it from utilities and removed the unit from the building during their response. Wade’s Repair Service came on Monday, May 15 and determined a faulty wire caused the fire, said Butterfield.

“It was an electrical issue,” said Dicks.

This isn’t the first time the fire department has seen an HVAC system cause a fire. Dicks said this is the third incident in the city limits in the past three or four years. The other two cases were houses, including one that was vacant.

The center is currently closed as they wait for repairs to be made, hopefully by the end of the week. They hope to reopen by next week, if not sometime this week, said Butterfield.

“We want to play it safe until we are fully operational with the whole building,” he said.

The center serves 37 students and employs 12 staff members.

Butterfield encourages parents to keep their contact information updated with the center in case of emergencies like this.

Eleven firefighters along with three engines and a rescue truck responded to the fire, which was the city fire department’s 149th call of the year. One ambulance and multiple law enforcement officers also assisted.