House destroyed in weekend fire

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By Heather Ruppe

Two campers that were connected to form one large residence were both destroyed in a large weekend house fire.

The fire occurred in the evening hours of Saturday, July 23rd in the 1000-block of Keegan Drive, near Cromwell Lane. This is located on the outskirts of Walterboro.

The fire was first reported to officials at about 8:30 p.m., when a passerby saw flames coming from what he thought was a woods fire. He called 911 and Colleton County Fire-Rescue responded.

However, firefighter-paramedics who arrived on the scene discovered that the flames were coming from two connected campers – and a woods fire. “Both (campers) were well-involved with flames when we arrived,” said Barry McRoy, chief of Colleton County Fire-Rescue (CCFR).

“One had actually already collapsed when we arrived on scene,” he said.

Firefighters drug handlines of water down a long driveway and used these to put out the flames. Fire crews were on scene for about two hours.

According to McRoy, both of the campers were completely destroyed in the blaze.

“Thankfully, no one was at home when the fire occurred,” he added.

According to McRoy, the adjoining campers did have power running to them, which is a sign to authorities that the campers were clearly being used as a full-time residence. “There were also items in the yard, indicating to us that the residence was occupied,” he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The homeowner lost all belongings in the blaze.