LIVINGSTON – The historic home of Robert and Mary Holycross in Livingston was still smoldering Monday after a fire destroyed the Victorian-style house.
Sumter County District 6 Commissioner Pat Ezell said the fire started late Thursday and quickly consumed the home.
“I live right close to the house,” Ezell told 1819 News. “I was going to bed and I went to go lock my door in the kitchen, and I saw an orange kind of glowing as I was walking to the office. I went to lock my door, and it was just orange, just big tall orange, just everywhere.”
Ezell said they heard the sirens, but it was too late.
“It was a very intense fight,” he said. “I think every volunteer fire department in the county showed up. The whole county showed up.”
By Monday, all that remained were four charred chimneys and burned rubble.
The home on West Main Street was a fixture in the community. Ezell said the loss is being felt throughout the town.
“It’s like losing a best friend,” Ezell said. “Or like losing somebody in the community, to me. You can’t build that back.”
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is unknown.
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