JACKSON, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Crews rushed to the scene of a structure fire early Thursday in Jackson.
The fire was reported around 5 a.m. in the 200 block of Daniel Street.
The structure was still fully ablaze at 5:23 a.m., and crews moved to defensive operations - an effort to contain a fire and keep it from spreading to nearby buildings.
One patient, the only person home, was taken to a hospital, according to authorities.
It was initially reported as a brush fire, but when crews arrived, they found out it was a structure fire, with heavy flames coming out of the center of the house.
There were initial fears someone was trapped inside, with one person unaccounted for soon after the fire broke out. Information about that person's fate wasn't available in the aftermath of the firefight.
Once the flames were out, firefighters' flashlights could be seen through the windows, shining beams in smoke-filled rooms.
A ladder leaned against a window with a charred frame.
Multiple agencies from across Aiken County responded to the fire, along with ambulances.
Jackson Fire Chief Joseph Sirad said it's too early to know the cause of the fire.
Around the same time, a separate structure fire was reported on Dorr Drive in Belvedere. There were no injuries in that fire, authorities said.
There's usually an increase in house fires during winter as people try to keep their homes warm, but this season has been especially bad across the region.
On Feb. 24, a house fire in Gloverville claimed the lives of two children, and a third later died of injuries from the blaze.
A couple of days earlier, the Orangeburg County Coroner's Office says a 77-year-old man has died after a house fire.