Two people die in house fire that South Carolina official calls ‘heartbreaking’
Two people recently were found dead inside a South Carolina home where there was a fire, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire happened Friday morning at a home on Windsong Hill Drive, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. That’s in the Silverstreet area of Newberry County, which is between the Saluda River and I-26.
Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece identified 44-year-old April Nicole Sutton Long and 73-year-old Leroy Seegers as the victims, according to the release. Both were Silverstreet residents, the sheriff’s office said.
Long and Seegers’ bodies were recovered after the fire was extinguished, according to the release.
A 911 call reporting the fire was made at about 6:30 a.m., and multiple fire stations in Newberry County responded to the burning building, the sheriff’s office said.
But as crews arrived, they found that the home was more than 80% involved in fire, according to the release. Despite the rapid response, the fire had advanced significantly, making rescue operations impossible until the blaze was extinguished, the sheriff’s office said.
Firefighters brought the fire under control within minutes, according to the release. That was when they learned that Long and Seegers had died, the sheriff’s office said.
The coroner’s office has not announced the causes of death for the victims, but autopsies will be performed this week, according to the sheriff’s office.
Two other people who lived at the home were not present at the time of the fire and were unharmed, according to the release.
The sheriff’s office said that no firefighters were hurt, and no other injuries were reported.
Information about where in the home the fire started was not available, and the cause of the fire is being investigated by the sheriff’s office, along with Newberry County Fire officials, the Office of State Fire Marshal and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Officials did not say if foul play is suspected.
“This is a heartbreaking incident for everyone involved,” Silverstreet Fire Chief Michael Parker said in the release.
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