Apartment Fire In Charleston Caused By Faulty HVAC Unit

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(Newswire.net — June 13, 2013) Charleston, SC – John Gradick, the owner of Passion Heating and Air, a HVAC company serving Charleston residents, has warned residents that they may be at risk of fire breakouts if their HVAC units are not serviced regularly and maintained properly.

A fire broke out at Colonial Village, an apartment complex in West Ashley on Tuesday, damaging two apartments. Mike Julazadeh, a Fire Marshall from the Charleston Fire Department, reported that the fire appeared to have originated in a space between the building’s first and second floors, which held the air conditioning equipment.

A bystander who spotted the fire, which is believed to have started at around 12.20 pm., tried to put it out before making the call to firefighters. The fire department responded to the call and arrived at the apartment building located at Sam Rittenberg Boulevard at 12.38 pm.

By the time the firefighters arrived, fire and smoke could be seen from one side of the building. They managed to extinguish the blaze and search the entire building within 20 minutes.

The damage from the fire was limited to the ground floor apartment, although minor damage also occurred on the second floor. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and building managers are now working to ensure that the affected tenants are relocated.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. There have been increasing reports of fire breakouts resulting from dysfunctional HVAC equipment all over the country as the summer season progresses.

Such fires put millions of dollars of property at risk. They also put at risk the lives of homeowners, their children and pets. A fire that broke out in March in yet another West Ashley apartment building is believed to have caused the death of a cat that went missing.

In order to prevent HVAC problems that could lead to fires and other serious consequences, Gradick advises Charleston homeowners and building managers to ensure that all their HVAC equipment are serviced on a regular basis and receive proper maintenance.

“As the summer heat increases, there is much more demand placed on HVAC units. As the systems are stressed, they’re more likely to fail and sometimes have catastrophic consequences if not serviced regularly,” Gradick said. “A standard air conditioning service checkup can prevent this from happening.”

For more information about HVAC service and repair, contact:

Passion Heating and Air
2931 Blackfish Rd
Charleston, SC 29455
(843) 310-0111
http://passionhvac.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/110991744620389276894/about

 

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