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Witness enters burning Lancaster home to search for victims

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — A home off Shiloh Unity Road in Lancaster caught fire around 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The fire can be heard crackling from a distance in a video that Garrett Hammond shared with Channel 9.

Jeff Mason said he was driving to the store when he saw the fire.

"It was engulfed. I mean it looked like an inferno inside. It kept spreading and spreading. It was (really) bad," Mason said.

Mason said he kicked open the door to see if anyone was inside.

"Came rolling out, thick, black smoke. It was about waist-high. I had to get down real low to get in there," Mason said. "I noticed a big thing of kerosene. Kicked that out of the way, then the roof collapsed."

Mason said he got out of the home minutes before he heard an explosion.

Hammond showed up right after Mason.

"We hoped no one was in there, just because the flames were already probably double or triple the size (of) the house. It was intense," Hammond said.

Mason and Hammond said they alerted neighbors because the fire was spreading. The dry weather and wind was pushing the fire toward homes.

The Lancaster County fire marshal said it took firefighters from four different departments to extinguish the fire.

Investigators said they believe the fire started in a back bedroom. They said they will examine several pieces of evidence before determining the cause.

The homeowner showed up later at the house unharmed.

"It’s a good thing that she wasn't home -- that nobody was hurt," Hammond said.

The homeowner told Channel 9 she stayed with family Monday night because her water pipes were frozen. That confirmation was all Mason needed to hear.

"I just went over there and she thanked me (for) doing what I could do. It wasn't much. I think anyone would have done it too," Mason said.

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