Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

North Myrtle Beach man dies in morning house fire

A man in his 60s died Wednesday morning in a house fire in North Myrtle Beach.

Authorities said the man lived alone in the home and no one else was injured. The man's name was withheld Wednesday because his family had not been notified, said Horry County Coroner Robert Edge.

North Myrtle Beach public information officer Nicole Aiello said firefighters were notified around 8 a.m. about the fire in a home in the Waterway View community on the Intracoastal Waterway near Eighth Avenue North.

Aiello said the home was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived. She said firefighters searched the home after a neighbor told them that someone was inside.

She said the man was found in the home's living room, where authorities think the fire began.

Officials do not believe the fire was suspicious, Aiello said. They won't have an actual cause of the fire until they complete their investigation, which could be today, Aiello said.

Earlier this year, a 24-year-old woman and her 5-year-old son died after their home in Andrews caught fire. Nicole Jiles died Jan. 3 at the home on Rosemary St., and Jiles' son, Gary Vereen, died the next day at the burn center in Augusta, Ga., officials said. The cause of death for mother and child was burns.