GREENWOOD COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A house fire injured two people and killed one Monday night in Greenwood.
The Greenwood County Coroner’s Office said the fire occurred around 10:40 p.m. on the 200 block of Augusta Circle.
Greenwood City and County firefighters responded.
“There was a full fire with flames coming from the back area of the house and up over the top of the house,” said Rhonda Coats, a neighbor. “There was a lot of smoke.”
“I saw someone running out of the house,” added Bre, a neighbor.
Greenwood City firefighters said there was so much smoke inside the house when they arrived that they could not see.
“There was a boom,” said Bre. “I’m not sure what it was, but it was definitely a boom. Then, you just saw some of it [house] collapse.”
Firefighters told 7NEWS they found a woman and several of her dogs in a bedroom. They removed her from the home, but she did not survive.
The coroner’s office identified the woman as 54-year-old Jeanette C. Ochse, of Greenwood.
An autopsy has been scheduled later this week to determine the cause and manner of death.
Two men were injured in the fire. A report from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office said one man escaped by breaking and climbing out of a bedroom window.
Several dogs also passed away, according to firefighters.
“She loved the dogs,” said Coats.
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office said, at this time, they do not believe foul play was involved in Ochse’s death.
A report states that a person told a deputy that “the fireplace was on fire and that it was spreading to the rest of the residence.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
