Rabbits, guinea pigs die in Socastee home fire

Several rabbits and guinea pigs died in a house fire in Socastee on Tuesday night.

Authorities were called to 270 Holly Circle for a house fire that started outside the building, according to Dan Shankle with Horry County Fire Rescue.

Eric Smith, who lives in the residence, said he heard the fire alarm go off and figured it was something on the stove. He said he then saw smoke coming down the hallway and alerted everyone in the house to get out and call the fire department.

“Luckily there was a water hose laying right beside the fire and I started putting it out,” Smith said. “It was a good thing I had the water hose or else it would have been a lot worse. It was a massive fire. I mean, it was massive.”

However, he didn’t believe any of the family’s nine rabbits nor three guinea pigs made it out alive. Shankle couldn’t confirm a number but did say that “some animals perished in the fire.”

“My girlfriend is going to be torn to pieces because those were her babies,” said Smith, who said his girlfriend was out shopping at the time of the fire and did not have a cellphone on her.

Smith said all the people in the house got out safely, and he said the family’s seven dogs were believed to be safe though two of them “just hauled tail.”

Smith believes the fire likely started in the rabbit coop via a heat lamp malfunction either by having too much straw or electrical issues, but Shankle said it was too early to determine a cause.

“It appears it was an unintentional fire,” Shankle said. “It started from the outside of the building. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what started the fire.”

Despite the loss of some pets, Smith said he was thankful that it wasn’t worse.

“If this had happened in the middle of the night we wouldn’t have had a house,” Smith said. “It was a massive ball of fire. It was a big cage, a frame. It was just solid fire. The whole thing was engulfed in fire. … The eve of the house was burning too. The house was on fire and the rabbit cage was on fire. But thank goodness we have insurance.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 9:20 PM with the headline "Rabbits, guinea pigs die in Socastee home fire."