MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Calls to 911 to report the Windsor Green fire that sent seven people to the hospital last week reveal fear of a repeat of 2013.
“Windsor Green is on fire. It’s not my unit, but I’m driving by and it looks like one of the units is one fire,” says the initial caller who reports Thursday night’s blaze at the condo community. “We do not need another episode like we did before.”
The call to the Windsor Green apartments on Harvest Drive came in at 9:12 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they found people on balconies and several people jumped, Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Mark Nugent told News13.
The dispatch worker attempts to get the building numbers from the caller but he says, “there’s too much smoke to see.”
The caller tells dispatch that the building is “burning like crazy” before he says “I’m sure someone else is reporting this,” but dispatch reveals he is the first caller to report the fire. Dispatch then takes a pause from the call to share the information with first responders.
“You’ll see it. You can’t miss it. It’s burning quick. You gotta get somebody out here…”
The dispatch worker tries to calm the caller.
“Yes sir, we’re gonna get some help out there, just stay calm for me, ok?” She goes on to ask if the caller can see or hear if anyone is trapped inside the burning building.
“I can’t see, but there somebody that’s like, oh, it’s burning quick! Holy crap!”
Then, the caller voices concern over what is later revealed by fire officials.
“It’s one of the older units and I know it’s not equipped for fire, because I know the other buildings went up real quick,” he says referencing the 2013 fire at Windsor Green that destroyed 26 condominium buildings.
Nugent says 16 people lived in the building that caught fire, and seven of them were taken to the hospital. Four of the victims were in critical condition. All of the injuries were for trauma, not burns, he said.
As of Wednesday, three victims are still in the hospital, two of whom remain in critical condition.
Although fire officials have not given an exact cause of Thursday night’s fire, Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Mark Nugent says the fire is not considered suspicious.