rss
mobile
Feeds
The family -- two grandparents, their 7-year-old granddaughter and her aunt -- arrived at their home on Poppy Hill Road from the grocery store just after 11 p.m. to find firefighters extinguishing the blaze, said Tom Webb, Burton deputy fire chief.
No one was injured, but "the house is uninhabitable," Webb said.
Crews had the fire under control in about 40 minutes, he said. A neighbor saw the flames and called 911.
Investigators believe an electrical malfunction started the fire in the hall of the single-wide mobile home.
The family is being housed by the Red Cross at a local hotel until they can find permanent housing, said Katherine Maybank, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The Red Cross provided one of the elderly residents with replacement medications and medical equipment, Maybank said. "We have a nurse on-call who is able to work with the hospitals and pharmacies to replace medications, so there aren't any life-threatening issues."
The Red Cross also referred the family to agencies for help with long-term help. Mental health and health services will check up on the family, as well.
Gordon Robertson, an officer with the Red Cross' Carolina Lowcountry Chapter, said the agency has assisted 58 people who have been affected by home fires since July 1 in Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties.
"This number suggests to me that the normal spike of fires this winter will produce a high number of victims of residential fires," Robertson said. "And it's so often the case that people don't have a place to go, even those with insurance. Our goal is to meet those immediate needs."
The Red Cross provides money for shelter, seasonal clothing, shoes, food and medical supplies, including eyeglasses and inhalers, he said.
"Even when a house isn't completely destroyed, people will still need help," he said. "Often, you're confronting chaos, so a guiding or comforting shoulder to lean on from the Red Cross really has an impact."
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE RED CROSS
In Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties:
Palmetto Service Center
P.O. Box 2839
Bluffton, SC 29910
843-757-7437
On the Web: www.LowcountryRedCross.org
