A family living on Billups Road in Panola lost everything they own, including their home, early Wednesday morning after a fire.
Clarendon Fire Chief Frances Richbourg said Wednesday evening that Patsy Pugh and her family was not home at the time their wood-frame, single-story home caught fire.
“It was noticed by some of their neighbors and called into 911,” said Richbourg. “By the time we got there, it was well-involved: One whole section was already pretty much burned down, but still burning, and it was moving into the rest of the structure.”
Richbourg said firefighters were able to “stop the fire there, and put the remains out.”
“The homeowners came out as we were still fighting the fire, and we called the American Red Cross to come and help them out,” she said. “They essentially lost everything, belongings as well as the home itself.”
Richbourg said the Red Cross was going to help the family find a place to stay for the night, if they couldn’t find family or friends to stay with.
Based in Sumter, the Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross is frequently dispatched to house fires and other “disaster-type” situations in Clarendon County.
“It depends on the damage and, obviously, the assessment of that damage as to what kind of relief we can provide,” said Director Nancy Cataldo. “Usually, we offer food, clothing, life-sustaining medication and some lodging. But that’s all based on assessment.”
The organization also provides “comfort kits,” which include shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs and other toiletry items a family might have lost during a house fire.
