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Community mourns after 98-year-old man dies in house fire

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A woman was seriously injured and a man died Thursday after a house fire in Rock Hill, according to officials.

Officials said Fred Cathcart, 98, was trapped inside his home and couldn't get out.

Alice Wilson, 54, suffered severe burns and was flown to a burn center in Winston-Salem after the fire in the Boyd Hill community. The fire happened around noon at 1132 Hoyle St.  Firefighters had the fire under control by 12:35 p.m.

Witnesses said it started with an explosion so loud a neighbor thought a truck hit her home.

“It was like ‘bam!’ Just like that,” said Sherman Marshall. Marshall heard it a block away.

Neighbors said that Wilson lived with Cathcart and that the community is mourning the death of the 98-year-old.

“Everybody around here in the neighborhood know him.  He was a real good man,” Marshall said.

“It's the most horrible thing that ever happened in our neighborhood,” said friend Bleaker Blake.

Cathcart's daughter lived next door.

Family members gathered at the home, as firefighters poured water on the smoldering ashes just yards away.

Many of them were too upset to talk on camera.

Family members said he recently celebrated his 98th birthday. They said Cathcart was in such good shape, they expected him to see 100.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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