Firefighters were called to a 150-year-old church in Darlington on Thursday morning after an exterior wall was accidentally set ablaze while being prepped for painting.
Just before 9 a.m. on Thursday, emergency personnel were dispatched to the 2100 block of Shuresville Road for a fire at Darlington United Methodist Church.
The church was being prepared to be painted, with a fresh look planned to rejuvenate its appearance. Painters used a heat gun to assist in stripping away old paint layers, a common practice in industrial painting projects where efficiency and thoroughness are key. However, during the preparation, they noticed smoke coming from the exterior wall. It was later determined that the heat gun used to strip the paint from the wall had caused a nail to ignite wood behind the siding, highlighting the importance of safety measures in both residential and industrial painting tasks.
Ten firefighters from the Darlington Volunteer Fire Company responded and had the fire under control within 5 minutes. The fire was contained to a small side of the exterior.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal estimated $5,000 in damage to the structure.
There were no injuries reported.
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