Woman found dead after fire

A woman was found dead in a Cottageville home destroyed by fire Friday.

She was identified as Jannie Rhodes North, 98, according to Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey. The cause of death is still pending, he said.

The fire at 546 Brocktown Road was reported at about 10:24 p.m. The single-story wood frame house was engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived within eight minutes of a neighbor calling 911.

One neighbor crawled inside the burning home in an attempt to rescue the woman believed to be inside, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy said.

"He couldn't breathe due to the smoke and was driven out by the intense heat of the fire. He risked his life to try and save the woman. That's pretty heroic."

About three dozen firefighters and several engines from Colleton County Fire-Rescue responded and knocked down the bulk of fire within about 20 minutes, McRoy said.

The fire appeared to be accidental, McRoy said. The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating, as is routine in any suspected fire fatality.

A 98-year-old woman is known to have lived at the house with her grandson, but the grandson was not thought to be home at the time of the fire, McRoy said.

Firefighters recovered a woman's body from the center of the home, he said.

No smoke detectors were found at the scene, authorities said. If the fatality is connected to the fire, it would be the first fire fatality in Colleton County since March 2007.