MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Fire Rescue responded to a fire off Highway 544 late Wednesday night.
It’s the second fire in a week to shut down the four lane highway.
The first fire occurred at a home on Kings Road. Crews were forced to run a hose across Highway 544, all the way up to Kingswood Drive. HCFR Battalion Chief Dan Shankle estimates the distance from the hydrant to the truck was 800 feet.
The National Fire Protection standard is 2,000 feet along major roads and rural areas.
“It’s not unusual for us to lay 800 to 1000 feet,” said Shankle.
However, running the hose across a four lane, busy highway is unusual. Highway 544 only has hydrants on one side of the road.
According to Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority Chief Operations Officer Christy Everett, industry standard is a water line on one side of the road and a sewer line on the other. She says DHEC requires certain separations between the two to protect from contamination.
Everett says the utilities on Highway 544 were in place long before the road was widened to four lanes.
“One hydrant costs $5000 to install,” explained Everett.
Chief Shankle says it would’ve helped to have the hydrants closer, but it didn’t keep crews from putting out the fire. He says each truck carries 1,000 gallons of water.
“A lay of 100 feet is going to be a little bit quicker than 1000 feet but we are prepared and trained for a 1000 foot lay,” he explained.
For now, there are no plans to add hydrants on the other side of Hwy 544, so fire crews will be forced to continue to stop traffic while responding to calls along the roadway.
