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. Painters used a heat gun to assist stripping away old paint. While they were prepping the area, they observed smoke coming from the exterior wall. It was later determined that the heat gun used to strip the paint from the wall caused a nail to ignite wood behind the siding.
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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