June 1949 Fire Gutted Three Buildings

Shortly after 3 o'clock on Thursday morning, June 23, 1949, Dr. Philip Assey of Georgetown was bringing one of his patients to Kelley Hospital in Kingstree. As he turned off the Georgetown/Andrews road on to East Main Street in Kingstree, he noticed an orange glow above the main business district. Passing the railroad depot he saw a Kingstree police officer who did not seem to be aware that anything was amiss. However, as Dr. Assey turned from Main on to Academy Street, he saw flames shooting up from three buildings on the west side of the street.

The three building that burned in June 1949 as they look today.

in 1949, the A&P was to the far left; D.D. Hardee's barbershop 

was in the center, and Stanley's Grocery Store was the building to the far right.

He immediately began searching for a fire alarm box so that he could report the fire. Finding none, he began blowing his horn continuously until he aroused someone who alerted the fire department. Although the fire department was less than a block away on Mill Street, by the time volunteers arrived on the scene, all three buildings were fully involved. And, firefighters saw that their worst nightmare had come to life.

For some time, town officials had known it would be difficult to fight a fire to the rear of the buildings on the west side of Academy Street as there was no room to maneuver a fire truck and hoses. However, they had yet to come up with a solution to the problem. But time had just run out. The three buildings on fire were near the center of the block, including the A&P grocery store, managed by A.W. Dabbs; the Palace Beauty and Barber Shop, known locally as D.D. Hardee's; and Stanley's Grocery, owned by Stanley Inman. 

Kingstree Fire Chief Dr. W. Gordon Rodgers, 

who was also a pharmacist and owner of Rodgers Drug Company,

and served as Mayor of Kingstree in the 1950s.

Kingstree Fire Chief Dr. W. Gordon Rodgers quickly found a creative solution to the problem. Firemen dragged their hoses up the stairs to the second floor of the three-story building on the corner of Main and Academy streets. The second floor was used as a Masonic Lodge, and the firemen and their hoses went out the second-story lodge windows to the roof of Sidney Dubin's dry goods store. They were then able to drag their hoses to the back of that roof and direct water on the fire burning in the A&P next door. 

Firefighters dragged their hoses up to the second floor and out onto the roof

of Dubin's store so that they could fight the fire at the rear of the A&P to the right.

Three alarms were issued, one at 3:45, one at 4:15, and one at 6:30 before the fire was brought under control about 8 a.m. While the walls of the buildings still stood, the interiors were gutted by the fire, and the two stores which flanked those that burned, Dubin's and Kingstree Electric & Supply, owned by J.W. Wallace and Philip C. Stoll, suffered smoke and water damage. Damages were estimated between $70,000 and $100,000, which today would amount to $813,500 to $1,162,140. The cause of the fire was not known at the time it was reported in the press.

The A&P suffered the heaviest damage. That building was owned by R.M. Kellahan. D.D. Hardee owned his own building, and M.H. Jacobs owned the building that housed Stanley's grocery. 

Western Union Telegraph lines were damaged, cutting Kingstree off from telegraph service for several hours. Telephone lines in that part of town were also out of service until Thursday afternoon.

Repairs were made, and life got back to normal. Today, the old A&P store is vacant. The barbershop, which has been in a state of disrepair for a number of years, was recently bought by Pam Davis of the Downtown Café and has been torn down. It will soon provide a space for outdoor seating for the café. The Café itself occupies the old Stanley's Grocery building.