Myrtle Beach area fire kills 44-year-old

Two neighbors of a man who died in a house fire off Socastee Boulevard Saturday night said they didn’t know him, but there never was trouble from his home.

Joe Russell, 44, died in the fire, according to Darris Fowler, Horry County deputy coroner. He said Russell most probably died from smoke inhalation and burns, but an autopsy was incomplete on Sunday.

The cause of the fire was not available, Sunday. Horry County Fire Rescue officials could not be reached for comment.

``I never saw nothing wrong with them. They went to work and home and that was it,’’ said Ruth Merino who lives with her mother, Barbara Romanello. “They never bothered us. They were like a regular family. That was it.’’

Romanello said she was inside her house when she saw the fire around 9 p.m. She said she was alerted by her dog, Peanut.

“I got up. I went oh my God,’’ she said. “The flames were getting higher and higher, and I went to call 911.’’

Merino said there was nothing she or her mother could do to help because the fire spread quickly.

Romanello and Merino said they were surprised that was someone in the home because they didn’t see anyone there the night before.

``There were no cars. We thought no one was home,’’ Merino said.

Kenneth A. Gailliard, kgailliard@thesunnews.com

This story was originally published April 12, 2015 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach area fire kills 44-year-old."