JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) -- Firefighters say they're satisfied with their response time to a James Island house fire last weekend.
An 80-year-old paraplegic man was rescued from the home by neighbors. The fire started in a dryer that was in the garage.
It took James Island fire officials nine minutes to respond to the 911 call. Despite a worried neighborhood, officials are happy with the time.
Saturday, friends and neighbors could only stand and watch as the house on Clark Sound Circle burned.
"People were freaking out, we were very upset and concerned," said Kim Harris. "We didn't know if anyone had been rescued, if anyone was inside."
The elderly, paraplegic man living there was pulled from the house. He was rescued by neighbors before firefighters arrived.
"It's very concerning, what if our house caught on fire," Harris said.
James island crews beat Charleston firefighters to the house, even though a Charleston fire station is just 1.2 miles away. Officials say that's because the Charleston crew was undergoing training that morning.
According to Charleston fire officials the first 911 call to dispatchers came from inside the burning house at 9:28 a.m. The correct fire crews were dispatched at 9:32 a.m., with the first firefighters arriving on scene at 9:37a.m.
It took nine minutes to reach the burning building.
"The standard is eight minutes for the first arriving unit," says James Island fire chief, Chris Seabolt.
Seabolt says that time can vary because of location but maintains the response was adequate.
"When you're a neighbor and you see your house on fire or your neighbor's house on fire you may not have the perception of time," he said. "And you think things are taking longer than they should."
"That is a good time, that is not the best time," says dispatch center director, Jim Lake. "One of the reasons there was confusion during this call was because the caller had hung up or was disconnected most likely."
Because they work together, firefighters say it doesn't matter which department arrives first, as long as they get the job done.
In all, 11 calls were made to dispatchers relating to the fire.
