Fire at Fairway

At approximately 2:20pm on Wednesday Dec 16th a page went out to first responders in Chattooga County for a commercial building fire with smoke spotted rising from the roof. Within 15 minutes from that dispatch, units from Summerville Fire Department, Trion Fire Department and Hayes Correctional Institute were on scene and the fire was extinguished. This rapid response and action quite probably prevented severe structural damage to one of the mainstays of the Highlands area of Summerville.

The Fairway Recreation Center is a branch of the Summerville Recreation Department and has just recently undergone renovations to modernize and upgrade the facility for local citizens.

Assistant Fire Chief, Robby Lathem, was one of the firemen first entering the structure on a hose team demonstrating the immediate action from the men at the scene. While roof damage and water damage are visibly apparent, a thorough assessment will be conducted in the coming days. Witnesses to the fire indicated that it started inside the building and while sources claim that there were no initial signs of arson, a fire investigation team will make that determination in their report.