A doggone hero

PRTC employee recognized for saving beloved pet from house fire

Story by LISA SAVAGE

Adam Spooner loves his job. He’s been at PRTC for 21 years, working in the installation and repair department. He chose to stay in that department because it keeps him out and about in the community. He often finds himself working in his hometown of Cottageville, an area his ancestors have called home for six generations.

“I know everybody in this area, and they know me,” Spooner says.

It was no different on the morning of April 10 when Spooner responded to a troubleshooting call at a home on Pierce Road. Like on many of his calls, Spooner knew the homeowner. After he finished his work inside the home, Spooner and the homeowner chatted for a few minutes out in the yard. That’s when they heard a slight beeping sound.

“We looked at each other and said, ‘What’s that noise?’” Spooner recalls. The beeping continued and soon the homeowner’s daughter ran up to them. “She said, ‘Daddy, I think the neighbor’s house in on fire,’” Spooner says. “So we took off running.”

Smoke was billowing out from around the eaves and windows of the home. The man Spooner had been chatting with dialed 911 and said he knew that the older woman who lived alone in the burning house wasn’t home. But he also knew she had a beloved pet inside.

“I ran up and went to beating on the door,” Spooner says. The door was locked but he could hear the dog barking as the smoke alarm continued to blare.

While the neighbor was on the phone with 911, Spooner looked for some way to get the dog to safety. He finally kicked the door open, and the gray pit bull’s bark changed to a growl. “She was scared, and she wouldn’t come out,” he says.

Then the dog went silent. “I knew if we didn’t get her out soon she wasn’t going to make it,” Spooner says. He covered his mouth and went into the house, but the dog still wouldn’t come out. Spooner knew he couldn’t stay inside the burning house long, and he came out to get fresh air for a few seconds before covering his mouth again and going back in. This time, though, he was able to flush the dog outside and to safety.

Firefighters from Colleton County Fire-Rescue arrived and quickly extinguished the blaze, saving the home from extensive damage.

Spooner was recognized by PRTC and the fire department a few days later. “His actions allowed fire units to arrive early to extinguish the fire, and save the residence and the pet dog,” says Capt. K.C. Campbell, public information officer for Colleton County Fire-Rescue.

Fire damage inside the home was minimal, but there was smoke damage throughout the structure. Crews were on the scene for about one hour clearing the smoke from the house.

“Residents are reminded that smoke detectors provide early warning to fires, and in this case, alerted people next door,” Campbell says.

Due to modern building construction and highly volatile interior finishes, residents often only have three or four minutes to escape a house fire. “Early detection is truly a matter of life or death,” Campbell says. 

Colleton County Fire-Rescue provides FREE SMOKE ALARMS and installation for residents in the county fire district. Anyone interested should call Fire-Rescue headquarters at 843-539-1960