A man attacked firefighters with a machete as the firefighters tried to enter a burning hotel room Monday in South Carolina, authorities alleged.

The firefighters responded just after 8 a.m. local time to a fire at a hotel, the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department (BPRFD) said. The incident was upgraded to a structure fire following information from the Beaufort County Dispatch and a sprinkler activation, according to the statement.

The firefighters were going into the hotel room where the fire had originated when the machete-wielding man allegedly launched his attack after confronting them.

The firefighters “remained safe and handled an extremely difficult and dangerous situation professionally and appropriately,” the fire departemnt said, adding that officers from the Beaufort Police Department (BPD) responded quickly and arrested the alleged perpetrator. (RELATED: NYPD Kills Knife-Wielding Man After Violent Attack At Grand Central Station)

“First and foremost, our firefighters are okay. Out of an abundance of caution, they were evaluated on scene by Beaufort County EMS and cleared for duty,” the fire department continued.

The fire was small and the hotel’s sprinklers were able to extinguish it, BPRFD Deputy Chief Ross Vezin told The Island News. Vezin said he could not speak about how the suspect was detained but alleged that a machete was the only weapon his firefighters observed at the scene.

The suspect was hospitalized and then booked at the Beaufort County Detention Center, BPD Master Sgt. Sean Flomer said. Flomer did not verify the alleged perpetrator’s identity.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was set to take over the investigation into the fire, according to the BPRFD.