4 people dead, including 2 children, die in house fire in South Carolina

Four people, including two young children, died trying to escape a house fire in the state of South Carolina – while another person escaped.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 26, a fire broke out at a residence in Gaffney, and Kathy Shippy escaped from the flames, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.

As the fire spread to the one-story home, Kathy reported the fire at 1:40 a.m. by running across the street and asking a neighbor to call authorities, Fowler explained. According to the coroner, security footage shows the fire had already engulfed large parts of the home by this point.

“A doorbell camera on the neighbor’s house shows the structure was fully involved in fire at the time,” Fowler said.

While Kathy escaped the fire, four others did not, Fowler said: Willie Morris, 38, Dakeyia Shippy, 25, died in the fire, along with 4-year-old Mason Issac and 7-month-old Jerekry McGill.

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It’s not immediately clear what the relationship is between the victims of the multi-fatal fire, but according to Fowler, they all lived in the home.

The source of the fatal fire was traced to an indoor heater, according to Fowler. Kathy said Morris was “attempting to refuel a kerosene heater inside the home when fire broke out,” the coroner said.

Fowler recounted the tragic circumstances in which the deceased was discovered.

“All four victims were found on the kitchen floor at the back of the house,” the coroner said. They “appeared to have tried to escape through a window when they were overcome by smoke,” he said.

The medical examiner, along with the Gaffney Fire Marshall and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, are investigating the fire. Autopsies have been planned as part of the trial.