We try to provide general information about incidents on this page.  Due to personal privacy and other legal issues, we will of course be limited in the amount and depth of information which we can release.  If you click the thumbnails, you will get a higher quality photo.

Overturned Tractor Extrication, 8/7/10

On Saturday, August 7th at 10: 50 AM, Oakway Rescue Squad along with OMC EMS, Cross Roads, Oakway and Fair Play Fire Departments were dispatched to Cedar Lane Road. A man was pinned under a farm tractor with a broken leg and needed medical care and extrication.  After digging out a space under the tractor, rescue personnel lifted the tractor off the man using air bags. The ResQJacks were fortunately not needed for this extrication.   After medical stabilization, the patient was flown to a local hospital by an AnMed Life Flight helicopter.  His condition is unknown.

 

Car Fire, I-85 Exit 2 - 7/15/10

Thursday night at 6:32, units from Fair Play Fire Department were dispatched to a car fire on Interstate 85 at the northbound off ramp at Exit 2.  On arrival, they found a Toyota Camry fully involved in fire with it's occupants watching from nearby, belongings in hand.  Using water and foam, the fire was quickly extinguished.  A fire engine had to be strategically placed on the Interstate to protect firefighters from oncoming traffic.  The family reported that as they were driving toward their home in Spartanburg in their two week old used car, they heard a loud explosion and then smoke started coming out from under the hood.  They quickly pulled off the road at the Exit, grabbed what they could and ran. Luckily, not one was injured.  Flames quickly engulfed the front part of the car.  A wrecker was called to remove the burned out remains from the Interstate while the family waited for a friend to come pick them up.

 

Motor Vehicle Accident, I-85 Exit 1, 6/15/10
Tuesday morning at 11:55 AM, Fair Play Fire Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 85.  It appeared that a truck pulling a trailer with work vehicles on it was parked in the south bound emergency lane at Exit 1 when it pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer.  One work vehicle fell off in front of the 18 wheeler, while the other flew over the guard rail onto the grass.  No one was injured but traffic was backed-up 2 miles waiting for the wreckers to clear the road.  Oakway Rescue and Oconee Medical Center EMS were en route but were cancelled.  South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.

Grass Fire, East Fair Play Blvd. - 3/15/10
Fair Play Fire Department responded to a grass fire on March 15 behind Global Flowers on East Fair Play Blvd.   The fire spread from a burn pit into the adjacent field.   The wind was light which prevented spread beyond the first third of the field.   Two units along with ten firefighters from FPFD quickly extinguished the blaze.   There were no nearby structures threatened.   This was the department's first use, other than for training purposes, of the remote front mounted nozzle on their new Quick Attack truck.  Lines were also pulled from Engine 8.

 

 

Motor Vehicle Accident, I-85 2.5 mm - 3/12/10

This accident on I-85 on March 12 at the 2.5 mile marker was a near miss.   The driver had left Boston early that morning and was driving straight through to Atlanta.   It turned out not to be such a good decision.   He lost control, hit the median safety wires, went under them, spun around in the median and stopped in the grass.   He just missed entering the oncoming traffic lane by 1 foot.    The safety wires usually stop vehicles before they cross into oncoming traffic.    The driver of the vehicle was not hurt and Rescue 3 and OMC EMS were cancelled.   Units from Fair Play Fire Department remained on scene until the wreckage was removed.

 

Motor Vehicle Accident, Dairy Farm Road - 1/24/10

During the height of the storm on Sunday evening at about 8:04 PM, the driver of a pick-up truck, traveling west on Dairy Farm Road, lost control on a turn and plunged off the right shoulder, and traveled halfway down an embankment.  A large oak tree stopped the truck and kept it from rolling over.  Once crews from Fair Play Fire Department and Oakway Rescue stabilized the truck with winch cables and Rescue Jacks and forced open the door using the Jaws of Life, the victim was removed under the direction of Paramedics from Oconee Medical Center.  The victim was transported to a local hospital.  SC Highway Patrol is investigating.

 

 

I-85 Bridge - Vehicle Accident - 1/21/10

Fair Play Fire Department responded to an early morning accident on the I-85 bridge at the state line.  At 6:33 Thursday morning, a black Jeep, southbound on I-85, was hit by two 18 wheelers. The passenger reported that the Jeep's engine quit as they went across the bridge at the SC/GA border near Exit 1. They were unable to get the vehicle out of the traffic lane since there is no emergency lane on the bridge.  The passenger was able to help the driver out of the Jeep and across the bridge to a safe area on the Georgia side.  A Hart County ambulance transported the victim to a local hospital. Oakway Rescue and a Hart County fire unit were also on scene.  SC Highway Patrol is investigating.

 

 

I-85 4 mm - 3 Vehicle Accident - 1/11/10
Two cars and an Oconee County Sheriff's SUV were involved in an accident at 3:50 pm Monday afternoon.  Two drivers were transported to a local hospital and Dasher, one of the Sheriff's canines, was transported to a local vet.  Fair Play Fire Department, Oakway Rescue and Fork Rescue Squad were on scene for about an hour.  The accident occurred between the exit and entrance ramps at Exit 4.   North bound traffic was backed up to Exit 2 because it had to be routed off the Interstate at Exit 4 and then back on at the entrance to avoid the accident scene.   
 

 

I-85 3.5 mm - Semi vs. Car - 12/23/09

Ever wonder what a car would look like after being rear-ended by an eighteen wheeler?  A driver from Carnesville, Georgia found out at 2:40 am on 12/23.  When Fair Play Fire Department arrived at the 3.5 mile marker on the southbound side of I-85, they were expecting the worst.  What they found was a totally destroyed Cadillac with a single person in the back seat complaining of slight discomfort.  It appeared that when the truck hit the Cadillac, the force broke the back of the driver's seat allowing the female driver to slide out of the seat belt and shoulder harness and end up in the rear right seat.  The driver of the eighteen wheeler was not injured, but the driver of the Cadillac was transported to a local hospital by OMC EMS.  Oakway Rescue also responded to this incident.  The accident is under investigation by SCHP.

 

 

 

House Fire, Belton Road - 12/19/09

At 6:48 Saturday evening, South Union Fire Department, backed up by Fair Play and Oakway Fire Departments, responded to a structure fire in Port Bass.  First arriving units found smoke showing with heavy interior fire involvement at the Belton Road home.  All occupants were safely out of the house before the fire departments arrived.  The homeowner reported that stovetop cooking caused the fire which left significant damage.  Fire crews remained on scene most of the evening.

 

 

Tractor-Trailer Fire - 12/19/09

Fair Play Fire Department was dispatched to an 18 wheeler fire on the entrance ramp to I-85 at exit 1.   Upon arrival we found that the rear axle was burning.  Using the Quick Attack truck, the fire was quickly extinguished without too much damage to the vehicle.  

 

 

Barn Fire - 646 Worley Road - 11/4/09

Fair Play Fire Department was dispatched to assist South Union Fire Department at a barn fire on Worley Road.   The barn housed horses, farm equipment and stored hay.  The hay bales made it difficult to extinguish the fire as the bales had to be broken apart and doused.   The horses were removed without incident prior to the arrival of the fire departments.  In addition to Fair Play, Oakway and Crossroads Fire Departments assisted at this incident.

 

Chicken House Fire - 6/19/09

Approximately 22,000 chickens died when a Friday night fire consumed a chicken barn at the McPhail Chicken Farm.  Around 10:24 p.m. Fair Play was dispatched to the fire in a 300-foot chicken house.  The fans that cool the houses pulled the flames through the structure, preventing fire crews from being able to save the building or chickens.  Three other chicken houses were nearby, but crews were able to protect these exposures as well as the generator room that ran power to the other houses.   Fair Play, Oakway, & Crossroads Fire Departments, OCES Station 21, Oconee County Hazmat, and Rescue 3 responded to this incident in addition to Townville and Double Springs Fire Departments and Fork Rescue Squad from Anderson County. Owner Floyd McPhail told authorities there had been a power outage earlier in the day and he was using a generator for power.  Although the cause of the fire is thought to be electrical in nature, final cause will cannot be determined until an investigation is completed.