House Fire Leaves Anderson Man Injured

By Sandra Renrick

Published: July 16, 2008

An elderly Anderson man is forced to run through flames to escape his burning home, according to firefighters.

The fire started after eight o’clock on Wednesday morning at a home on Pine Lane in Anderson. Firefighters had to rip through the roof to get to the fire. They say several oxygen tanks were in the home. Neighbor Amy Brewster says she heard explosions and each time saw flames shoot from the windows.

“When it was exploding it kind of felt like a sonic boom, kinda, on the ground,” says Brewster. “There was a lot of booms and when it would boom, flames would come out of the window.”

Neighbors say the man who lives at the home is John Shaw, and he was inside when the fire started. Firefighters say Shaw was asleep, and woke up to flames. Sgt. Adam Zenoni, Anderson City Fire Department, says Shaw had to run through the fire to escape.

“The only exit was the front door and wherever he was, he had to come through it and that seems to be the area of origin, so he had to come through the fire. He was lucky.”

Friends say Shaw is being held overnight at the hospital but is expected to fully recover.

Brewster called 911 after she heard the first boom from an oxygen tank inside the home. She says Shaw walked into her yard after the fire and she sat with him until paramedics arrived. Brewster says she’s amazed Shaw made it out, and that the scene wasn’t worse.

“I thought the whole house was gonna go down. I really did. The booms-- it scared me because we’re close and with all these trees, I was expecting something to really blow up,” says Brewster.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Friends have set up a fund to help Shaw recover from the fire at Carolina First. The account is called the Shaw Foundation #710096z055.