The day of June 26 started out just like any other for Freddie Huth. He got up and went to work serving Clarendon County as Deputy Sheriff. At 4:40 pm, he received a phone call with devastating news.The dispatcher for Clarendon County informed Huth that she received a report of his house being on fire, and she was sending CC Fire Department to investigate. Huth drove home to find that the inside of his house was completely engulfed in flames. Flames and smoke could be seen coming from vents and windows on all sides.The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, but the damage was already done. Everything in the house was completely destroyed. After looking for his German Shepherd, Lady, Huth realized that his companion of five years had perished in the house.Huth and his wife, Lyz, lived in the house with two children and the family pet. At the time of the fire,they were at a relative's house and did not know about the situation. The Huth family moved into the house in 2000 after Huth's grandmother contacted him, saying she wanted him to take the house and make it into a home for him and his family. Huth was told that the house was built in the late 1950's.
“My grandparents had planned to retire and move into the house. But after discussing it, they decided to change their plans and gave the house to us.”
“I was so excited when we moved in,” said Huth. ”It had oak wood walls in the kitchen and dining room that my grandmother loved and I fell in love with.....so much so that even as Lyz and I were getting ready to remodel, we both had decided that we would do our best to use that wood in any way that we could to preserve it.”
“Lyz and I got married last May and started to turn that little house on Puddin Swamp Rd into our home,” Huth said. “Since the fire, I’ve said over and over that even if we lived somewhere else, it would be home if only we could get our Lady back. Lady was such a special part of our lives. She truly loved unconditionally and showed it every time we made it home. She greeted us at the front door and followed us wherever we went around the house.”After inspecting the results of the fire, investigators told Huth that they feel that the wires leading into an electrical socket in the kitchen shorted out and caught the wall on fire. It then traveled to the stove/microwave vent and traveled up the vent into the attic and consumed the house from there.
“We lost pretty much everything” said Huth. “Things that can never be replaced. As for donations. Mrs Missey at the Sheriff’s Office has been taking donations for us at the Office. My Brother, Terry, has set up a Go Fund me page and we are thankful for anything that people have and will bless us with.”The Huth family is temporarily staying in a mobile home nearby until they can plan their next step. If you want to help out by donating household items or clothes, please contact Freddie's aunt, Terri Tabor, at (803)460-7742, or contact Missey Ward through the Clarendon Sheriff's Office.
