McCormick County, SC
A fire that engulfed a mobile home in McCormick County, killing four people, did so much damage to the structure that the State Law Enforcement Division is unable to determine its cause.
SLED Spokesman Thom Berry said the source and point of origin of the blaze at 483 Greenfield Road, McCormick could not be identified because of the extent of the destruction it caused.
“In this particular case, we’re listing it as undetermined because of the amount of very heavy damage that was done in the fire itself,” Berry said. “There was just nothing left.”
An investigation is ongoing, Berry said.
“We cannot rule out any possible cause because of the severity of the damage,” he said. “We will be getting the full reports in from the autopsies from the victims, but as of this time, we are going with the cause being undetermined.”
Nathan Tayler Raugh, 25, died in the blaze, along with his three children — James, 4; Jalissa, 3; and Jordan, 2.
Memorials can be made to Raugh funeral expense fund, c/o Harley Funeral Home and Crematory, P.O. Box 777, Greenwood, SC 29648.
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McCORMICK, SC— The mobile home was so hot, the first deputy who arrived at the burning residence early Monday morning wasn’t able to step off the road.
Firefighters arrived seconds later to see the residence at 483 Greenfield Road, McCormick completely engulfed in flames, said Sandy Branch Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ed Slimm.
McCormick County Coroner Faye Puckett said an autopsy showed the four people inside died of carbon monoxide poisoning and burns. She said the four were asleep at the time and, because of the carbon monoxide, didn't wake up from the fire.
Nathan Tyler Raugh, 25, died in the blaze, along with his three children — James Raugh, 4; Jalissa Raugh, 3; and Jordan Raugh, 2.
“When we arrived on the scene, we found the building behind us fully engulfed, with the roof already collapsed,” he said, standing beside McCormick County Sheriff Clarke Stearns during a press conference Monday. “We were informed that there were possibly some victims still in the residence.”
McCormick County School District Superintendent Don Doggett sent an emailed statement Monday saying two students of the district’s Early Learning Center died in a house fire along with their family. Counselors at the districts education complex are available to help family members, friends and staff, the release said.
“A counselor, provided by GLEAMNS, is currently working with students, teachers and staff at the McCormick County School District Early Learning Center,” the release said. “Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the family and our McCormick Community for the loss of our neighbors.”
Along with the four people, Slimm said a dog also died in the blaze. While firefighters worked to douse the flames and get to the people inside, the grass, trees and a utility pole near the mobile home had already been charred in the heat.
“We didn’t know whereabouts in the residence the victims would be, and we tried to do what we could do to best succeed, and we had to attack it from the outside,” Slimm said.
Firefighters found all four people in a rear bedroom of the mobile home, he said.
“I’ve been a volunteer fireman for 54 years, and I’ve been a fireman down here in South Carolina for the last 18 years,” he said, “and this is basically the first fatal fire we’ve had in my fire district since I’ve been here.”
He said there were three smoke detectors in the house. As soon as Stearns heard there were people in the house, he said he called in the State Law Enforcement Division’s arson investigation team, and that while the case is still open, there’s been no indication of foul play.
He said SLED investigators pulled a couple of kerosene heaters out of the building, along with several electric space heaters.
Slimm said one of his firefighters is related to the people who died in the blaze, and lives next door to the residence.
“He got out there right away and there was nothing he could do as far as getting close to the building, because of the extent of the fire,” Slimm said. “They contain the heat very much, and if you don’t get on them right away, they just get fully involved. ... The fire apparently just advanced itself so fast, and we don’t know what kind of other materials were in the trailer that could have caused the heavy heat and so forth.”
Besides the scorched earth around the mobile home, Slimm said the bent and warped I-beams on the residence indicated that the flames likely reached about 1,000 degrees. The heat was so intense that a parked truck nearby was completely scorched.
Piles of warped metal were scattered away from the residence — which Slimm said was from firefighters moving debris to get to the heart of the blaze.
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NATE RAUGH
JAMES RAUGH
JALISSA RAUGH
JORDAN RAUGH
MCCORMICK -- Nathan Tyler “Nate” Raugh, 25, and his three children, James Anthony Tyler Raugh, 4, Jalissa Michelle “Missy” Raugh, 3, and Jordan Jean Raugh, 23 months, died on Monday, January 8, 2018.
Nate was born in Bluffton, IN, and was the son of Todd and Melissa Murdock Raugh. He was employed by McCormick Tire and was a member of Restoration Ministries Church of God. He enjoyed horseback riding and go-cart racing.
He is survived by his wife, Brittany King Raugh; his parents of Greenwood; two sisters, Saralynn Johnson and her husband, TJ, of Laurens and Jessica Craine and her husband, Jaime, of Greenville; grandparents, Larry Murdock of Decatur, IN, Allen and Tricia Raugh of Ormond Beach, FL and Sue and Eric Sherrer of Geneva, IN, and his niece, Emma Grace Johnson of Laurens.
He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Mary Murdock.
James was a typical little boy. He loved dressing up as a firefighter and loved tractors and being outdoors with his dad. Missy was a prissy little girl. She loved doing hair, makeup and nails and getting dressed up. Jordan loved her baby dolls and “cooking” with her little stove and utensils.
They are survived by their mother, Brittany King Raugh; their grandparents, Jackson Ray “Butch” and Mary King of Troy, and Todd and Melissa Murdock Raugh of Greenwood; great grandparents, Larry Murdock of Decatur, IN, Allen and Tricia Raugh of Ormond Beach, FL and Sue and Eric Sherrer of Geneva, IN; aunts and uncles, MaryAnn and Dupree Lewis of Troy, Lisa and Charles Dornberg, and Clifton White, all of McCormick, Saralynn and TJ Johnson of Laurens, Jessica and Jaime Craine of Greenville and Meme (Mandy) and Papa (Buck) Lamb of Greenwood and their cousin, Emma Grace Johnson of Laurens.
They were preceded in death by their great grandfather, James White.