Fire burns Florence auto parts warehouse

FLORENCE – Firefighters from five departments fought an early morning blaze at a Florence auto parts warehouse Saturday.

“When we arrived on the scene it was fixin’ to come out the top of the building,” West Florence Fire Chief LaRue Hendrix said of the fire, initially reported by a law enforcement officer about 1:30 a.m.

Firefighters from West Florence, Windy Hill, Howe Springs, Palmetto Rural and Florence fought the blaze at Roberts Wholesale Body Parts located on a frontage road just off US 52 north of Florence.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire in the warehouse and prevent it from spreading to the office area of the building, Hendrix said.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, Hendrix said.

He estimated the loss at about $1 million for the warehouse, the parts in it and the four or five trucks that were in the building as well.

Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire, Hendrix said.