Beaufort Co. warming shelters expect more visitors this weekend; Fire departments ask people to heat homes safely

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Warming shelters are opening across the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry ahead of this winter storm this weekend.

While fire departments are warning people to be cautious when heating their homes.

Across the Lowcountry, three warming shelters are opening their doors to give people a place to stay warm.

“We open our church campus to those without heat or without shelter,” Shelter Coordinator for Sea Island Presbyterian Church, John Murrie, said.

One will be at Sea Island Presbyterian Church in Beaufort, which first opened up as a shelter 15 years ago.

Now, the shelter opens when the temperature drops below freezing.

They are expecting more visitors than usual this weekend.

“With the weather we are expecting this weekend, Saturday night, I would expect an increase from the 32 people we saw last night,” Murrie said.

Sea Island offers people a place to sleep, get a hot meal, and, most importantly, stay warm.

They also have somewhere for people to shower and do laundry if needed.

The ministry is staffed by volunteers and receives donations from people in the church and from outside organizations to make it all happen.

“Takes a lot of time and energy to staff this during the timeframe that we do it,” Murrie said. “People who come cook meals, clean, and most importantly volunteer to stay overnight in the shelter.”

Christ Lutheran Church on Hilton Head will also be open for people, and Kingdom Touch Ministries in Ridgeland will open.

For people who don’t need to use a warming shelter this weekend and are going to stay home.

Fire departments are asking people to be cautious, especially when it comes to using a space heater or any other heating source that needs to be plugged in.

“The first is if it has heat, three feet,” Burton Fire District Assistant Fire Chief, Dan Byrne said. “Don’t place your space heaters or anything that is within three feet of anything that can burn, and your portal space heaters need to be plugged into an outlet, not an extension cord.

Candles are also a potential fire risk.

The Bluffton Township Fire District recommends that if you use a candle to make sure that you don’t leave it unattended and never put it next to something that could catch fire.

Bluffton recommends using battery-operated candles as a safe alternative.