News

Henderson County sheriff’s deputies have charged three men with arson in connection with the fire last week that heavily damaged 104 units at the SmartStop Storage buildings at 1931 Spartanburg Highway.

Around midnight Friday Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue and 16 other agencies responded to the scene of the fire, which had engulfed the commercial building when Blue Ridge arrived.

Once the scene was made safe the fire marshal’s office and the Sheriff’s arson task force investigators determined the fire to be arson. Arrested were:

• Boyzel White, 43, charged with three counts of felony burning of a commercial structure and felony conspiracy, $40,000 bond.
• Brandon Tornabene, 34, charged with three counts of felony burning of a commercial structure and one count of felony conspiracy, $100,000 bond

Andrew Kovaleski has been arrested in another jurisdiction and is awaiting extradition.

The total cost of damage to the building and building contents has not been determined and is still under investigation. Investigators are working with the owners of SmartStop Storage building to identify and contact victims of the affected units.

The sheriff’s office thanked  the surrounding fire agencies that assisted with the investigation and aided in the safety of the community.