SLED investigating fire at Fort Mill business with video gambling machines

"The fact that no one was in the house and hadn't been in the house - it was midnight on a Sunday night or Monday morning - seemed suspicious," Fort Mill Fire Chief Ken Kerber said. Local firefighters have called in state agents to investigate.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the state have discussed the possibility that some video gambling operators might resort to arson to collect insurance money as the July 1 ban on the machines nears, said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart.

Fort Mill firefighters called SLED's arson investigation team after H & D Wrecker Service went up in flames. The business had 10 video gambling machines.

The man who runs the machines, Danny Chapman, would not talk about the fire, WIS-TV in Columbia reported.

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