Body found in burning home is identified by South Carolina coroner
For the second time in as many weeks in the same South Carolina county, a man’s body was found at the scene of a house fire, the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday.
Frank Turner, a 63-year-old Winnsboro resident, was identified as the victim who was discovered in Saturday’s fire, Coroner Chris Hill said in a news release.
Turner’s body was found by members of the Fairfield County Fire Service who responded to a structure fire with an individual inside at a home on Durham Place Road, according to the release. That’s near U.S. 21, in the area between Interstate 77 and Lake Wateree.
No cause of death has been announced. An autopsy has been scheduled to make that determination, according to Hill.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about how long it took to extinguish the fire was not available.
There was no word on the extent of the damages, or if the home was considered a total loss.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the cause of the fire, as well as the death along with the coroner’s office.
There was no word if foul play was suspected.
On Dec. 19, the body of 83-year-old Winnsboro resident Wardell Jeter was found in a structure fire at a Keyhole Drive home, the coroner’s office said.
That’s about 20 miles from where Turner’s body was found.
There is no information indicating that either the deaths or the fires were connected.
Those were the only fire fatalities in Fairfield County in 2023, according to the corner’s office.
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