Maintenance man rescues boy as fire rips through Rock Hill apartment building

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A mother raced home from work to check on her 9-year-old son after a massive fire ripped through a Rock Hill apartment complex Wednesday night that damaged at least eight apartments and left dozens of tenants displaced, officials said.

No injuries were reported, but eight apartment units were damaged or destroyed in the blaze at Paces River Apartments, crews told Channel 9.

Amanda Johnson lives below the unit that was burning and said she couldn’t find a sitter, so her son was home alone.

"I freaked out,” Johnson said. “I clocked out. I ran here as fast as I could."

Johnson said the maintenance man found the boy hiding in the bathroom and got him out. Their dog was later located, also.

One of the two upstairs units that had severe damage from the fire was vacant, but fire investigators don't believe the fire started in that apartment.

The fire was reported after 6 p.m. at the complex off Celanese Road near the Catawba River.

Charles Lemon and his fiancé were inside an apartment.

"There's a sheriff that lives up on the second floor, and he just came and banged on the door really hard and yelled at us to get out. The apartments were on fire," Lemon said.

They ran out where other residents watched the blaze engulf a portion of the building.

"We saw the flames coming out the window and everything,” Lemon said. “It only took about 10 minutes for it to go completely up."

In photos sent to Channel 9 from the scene, flames could be seen leaping high into the air from the roof.

Lemon looked after the 9-year-old boy until Johnson got home.

"He was a little scared but other than that, we kept him calm and kept the puppy calm," Lemon said.

Fire officials said 38 residents were displaced.

The American Red Cross is assisting some of those displaced.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Return to this story for updates.

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