Holly Hill woman dies in fire – cousin says she loved son, reading, church

Mary Watkins, 63, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Orangeburg County Coroner Sean Fogle. An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.

Two other people were in the Gilway Street home when it caught fire, Orangeburg County Fire District Director Teddy Wolfe said.

The two men managed to get out of the house and were transported to a local emergency room where they were treated for minor injuries, Wolfe said.

Casey Hill, a cousin of Watkins, said, “She was independent and loved her son, reading and going to church.”

“She did not have a specific church. She attended multiple,” she added.

Hill said the two men who lived in the house were Watkins’ brother and son.

Someone called 911 at 7:11 p.m. to report the fire, Wolfe said.

The Holly Hill Police Department responded. The first firefighter responded to the scene 15 minutes later, he said.

As local firefighters responded to the scene, dispatchers told them they’d received a report that someone was trapped inside the single-family house.

Firefighters entered the home and discovered the woman’s body.

The home was constructed of wood and masonry materials. By the time firefighters arrived, the roof had partially collapsed and 75 percent of the home was burning.

Wolfe said firefighters faced challenges. For instance, the house had partially collapsed before they arrived.

In addition, Wolfe said crews were limited in manpower.

Wolfe said the 15-minute response time wasn’t ideal.

“My opinion for an ideal time would be two to four minutes to any call for emergency, but I know this is not possible in our current make,” he said.

He said the standard benchmark for a volunteer system says rural areas should respond to calls in 14 minutes or less 80 percent of the time.

The standard benchmark for a volunteer system in suburban areas calls for a response time of 10 minutes or less 80 percent of the time.

Wolfe said the Holly Hill Fire Department is comprised entirely of volunteers.

“It is not normally staffed by firefighters,” he said.

“I do have four Fire District fire engineers that are stationed throughout the county. Staffing depended on the availability of part-time fire engineers,” Wolfe added.

“The fire station is not manned,” he said, “Volunteers have to travel from wherever they are at the time the call came in. Some may be leaving their homes, work or anywhere in between.”

Monday night’s deadly fire was the second one in two weeks for Holly Hill.

Shiquan Williams, 9, lost his life on Feb. 25 when the Dawson Street house he was in caught fire.

“No doubt, a fire death will take a toll on firefighters,” Wolfe said.

“Although everyone handles this differently, the fire services have several options to handle mental health,” he added.

“One is through peer support meetings, which are normally held after a critical/traumatic event,” he said.

“Due to the Dawson Street fire, the Holly Hill Fire Department did hold a debrief where anyone who wanted to attend could come and hear how others were affected and offered support for one another,” Wolfe said.

He wants Orangeburg County residents to be “fire smart” and make sure homes are safe.

“The primary step we can all take is to ensure we have working smoke alarms installed in the home and smoke alarms installed in every bedroom,” he said.

Wolfe said the Orangeburg County Fire District thanks the Elloree Fire Department, Eutawville Fire Department, Holly Hill Fire Department, Providence Fire Department, Vance Fire Department, the Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services, Orangeburg County EMS, the Holly Hill Police Department and all others who responded and assisted at the scene.

As of Tuesday afternoon, investigators from S.C. State Fire, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division and the Orangeburg County Fire District were at the scene, working to determine the origin and cause of the fire, Wolfe said.

Family members are accepting donations of clothes and shoes to help the two men who survived the fire.

The current needs include:

• Men’s pants – sizes 32/34 and 30/30

• Men’s shirts – medium

• Men’s shoes – sizes 10 and 12

• Men’s socks – size 9-12

• Men’s underwear – medium

Donations may be dropped off at the following sites: 474 White Sands Road, Holly Hill; 491 White Sands Road, Holly Hill and Eutawville Town Hall, 220 Porcher Avenue, Eutawville.