Two Oconee County fires

According to Oconee Rural Fire Control, a 10 o’clock fire last night at the U-S Engine Valve plant near Westminster required an evacuation of workers.  No injuries reported.  Fire fighters on the scene until the midnight hour.  An exhaust fan in the roof above the production area caught fire.  Crews at the plant and the sprinkler system were able to control the fire before the arrival of fire fighters from Westminster, Oakway, and Seneca. The fire fighters removed smoke from the building and made sure hotspots were doused. In an earlier fire, smoke was seen as far as downtown Walhalla from a fire on the Lay Mill Road.  Charlie King, Oconee Fire Chief, said fire fighters needed about 25 minutes to put a stop to the large camper fire that reached an un-occupied house.  No one hurt.  The fire was reported by a construction crew working nearby. Responding to that fire were Picket Post, West union, Keowee-Ebenezer, Walhalla, and Keowee Key.  They spent three hours there.