ROWESVILLE, S.C. (AP) - A 52-year-old woman died in a house fire
after neighbors heard her calling to them but they couldn't get to
her because the flames were too hot, witnesses and authorities
said.
Ella Mae Addison died Wednesday afternoon in her one-story home
here about 10 miles south of Orangeburg, the Sheriff's Office said.
Firefighters from three different towns responded to the
residence at 3:45 p.m. But when the first units arrived the house
was already engulfed in flames, said Rowesville Fire Chief Steve
Murdaugh, who said firefighters were on the scene in about eight
minutes.
"We made our initial entry through the front door," Murdaugh
said. "There were a couple of bystanders that had tried to get in,
but it was too heavily involved."
Neighbors told deputies they called for help when they saw smoke
coming from the woman's home. The neighbors said they heard the
woman calling back, but they couldn't understand what she was
saying, a police report said.
Murdaugh said the fire's cause appears to be an accident and a
kerosene heater involved, but he would not elaborate.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)