LITTLE RIVER, SC (WMBF) - A Horry County family of four and their three pets escaped without injury Tuesday night after they said a drill battery explosion caused their Little River home to catch fire.
Jonathan Curtis said he and his family were eating dinner when they heard a loud noise from outside their home on Wortham Cutoff Road.
Curtis went outside to investigate what sounded like someone breaking in, but instead smelled something burning and heard popping noises before watching his garage explode.
“It’s boom—literally, you blink your eye, I mean, I heard something, and the next second everything was up in flames,” Curtis said.
Curtis told his family to call 911 as the four family members ran out of the house with their pets, taking only the clothes they were wearing.
Curtis said the family had no time to grab shoes, wallets, or phones before the house became engulfed in flames.
“I went to go grab my garage door and I realized the handle was hot, so I didn’t open it. About that time, I heard a big explosion and the garage door literally blew out,” Curtis said.
Curtis believes a hot drill battery he had used about an hour before the fire caused the garage explosion. He said he placed the battery on top of a box in the garage, something he had done many times before without incident.
“I laid it down in the garage on top of a box just like I would any other time. I’ve had that battery in that drill for years and never had a problem with it,” Curtis said. “It breaks your heart, we drove past that house for probably the past 20 years wanting to buy it, and by the grace of God, ended up with it, that was about 6 years ago, and this was the last thing I thought was going to happen to it.”
The smell of smoke was still lingering in the air more than 24 hours after the fire started.
Curtis spent the following day washing smoke-damaged clothes at a nearby laundromat when he spoke about the community’s response.
“Literally the amount of people I’ve had come to my house, take their shoes off and their shirt and give it to me, it’s humbling,” Curtis said. “I’ve had that happen to me twice today, literally this is a pair of shoes, the first pair I’ve had since then, I mean I ran out of the house, didn’t have any shoes on, wallet, phone, or anything.”
Neighbors and loved ones are asking for clothing and shoe donations for the family. Here is a list of the needed items with the correct sizes for all members of the family:
Anyone interested in donating can text Stephanie High at 843-241-4736 or Katie Greenwood at 843-360-9051 to arrange a drop-off location.
Curtis estimated it took about two minutes for his home to become engulfed in flames.
The American Red Cross recommends testing smoke alarms and practicing fire escape plans with families before Thanksgiving cooking begins, suggesting families practice until everyone can exit in less than two minutes.
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