Trapped woman dies in house fire that also killed several dogs, SC officials say

A woman trapped in a home during a fire was killed along with several dogs, according to South Carolina officials.

Two more people were injured in the fire, the Greenwood City Fire Department said in a Dec. 27 Facebook post.

Firefighters went to the home on the evening of Dec. 26 and were met with “very heavy smoke” and a fire, the post says. Within minutes of arriving, firefighters brought out the resident who had been trapped inside the home despite “high heat and zero visibility conditions,” the post says.

She was pronounced dead on scene at around 10:40 p.m., according to the Greenwood County Coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office identified her as Jeanette C. Ochse, 54. Her cause of death is yet to be determined.

The coroner’s office said it could not provide any further information about Ochse. An obituary could not be found online.

Emergency medical services took the two adult residents who were injured in the fire to a hospital, according to the fire department. “Several” dogs were killed. Greenwood City Fire Chief Terry Strange did not respond to a call from McClatchy News seeking further information about the fire.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Arson Unit is investigating what caused the blaze, a spokeswoman for the agency told McClatchy News.

Greenwood is about 75 miles west of Columbia.

This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Trapped woman dies in house fire that also killed several dogs, SC officials say."