NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Two people suffered minor injuries during a Wednesday morning fire that shut down a portion of West Montague Avenue.

Laura Kondor, Fire and Life Safety Coordinator/Captain for the North Charleston Fire Department, said crews responded to West Montague Paint and Body after receiving a 9-1-1 call around 6:55 a.m. reporting that a back building at that location was on fire.

Photo courtesy Hunter Davis
Photo courtesy NCFD

Crews arrived within four minutes of the 9-1-1 call and saw smoke and flames coming from the rear structure and began an exterior attack.

Kondor said two patients were discovered during the response. One individual had jumped from a second-story building, and another walked out from the first floor. Both were taken to an area hospital for a possible ankle fracture and the other with smoke inhalation.

Fire crews were unable to access the building because of structural collapse. “The roof and the side have come down. We’re waiting for an excavator to come and assist us with getting the material from the collapse,” said Kondor.

Photo courtesy North Charleston Fire Dept.

The nearby Holiday Inn Express was also evacuated due to possible exposure and as a safety precaution. People have since been allowed back into the building.

West Montague Avenue was shut down when fire crews responded to the scene and drivers were asked to avoid the area of W. Montague and International Boulevard. A portion of West Montague Ave. has been reopened.

The fire was brought under control around 8:17 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.