Last place to expect a fire: Blaze burns down Pickens County volunteer fire department

By WVUA 23 News Student Reporter Emily Caswell

The Dancy-Cochrane Volunteer Fire Department in Aliceville is a burnt-out husk after it caught fire Monday night.

An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is under way, and the building was still smoldering when WVUA 23 News pulled up at the site of the blaze Tuesday morning.

Much of the building is burned and isn’t salvageable, but no one was at the station at the time of the fire.

Keith Booty Cox, president of the Pickens County Firefighters Association and a longtime volunteer firefighter, said everything inside was burnt to a crisp.

“There were three apparatus inside the vehicle that were lost, as well as pretty much everything including the fire truck, which was a total loss,” said Cox.

In the wake of the devastation, Cox said neighboring communities and volunteer fire departments will be available when disaster strikes in the area Dancy-Cochrane usually serves.

“At the present time there’s an automatic aid agreement between Dancy and Aliceville, Summerville and Pickensville in case there is a structure fire,” Cox said. “Even though they are limited to what they can do, there is help coming. There are going to be some additional units that are going to be en route.”