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Firefighters respond to this home after a fire ignited, leaving a family of seven displaced.
Blackville-Hilda basketball player Amonya Smalls (left) presents Williston-Elko player Kyreona Brabham a donation to help Brabham's family recover from a fire.
The Williston Police Department is investigating this car fire.
A house fire has displaced a family of seven.
Around 1:41 p.m. on January 2, the Williston Fire Department (WFD) responded to a structure fire on Brim Lane in Williston. Upon arrival, crews saw fire showing from the back of the residence leading them to make an interior attack.
At the time of the fire, Jalen and James Brabham’s 16-year-old daughter, Kyreona, and two-year-old twin sons were home. She was able to get herself and her brothers to safety until WFD arrived.
The house was deemed a total loss and the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined.
“We just dropped everything and got home as fast as we could,” said Jalen, who was at a doctor’s appointment with one of her children when their home caught fire.
The children are 16, nine, six, and two-year-old twins, and the family has lived in the home for four years.
At a recent basketball game between Blackville-Hilda and Williston-Elko, sportsmanship showcased a tight-knit community. When Lady Hawk Aubreya Johnson informed her coaches of the Brabham’s situation, all came onboard to help a player on the opposing team. Kyreona is a junior and plays basketball at Williston-Elko.
“One of the basketball players on the other team reached out to their coaches and they did a raffle. Half of the proceeds went to the winner and half went to my daughter,” said Jalen. “The community has been fabulous.”
Information on how to help the parents and five children has been shared on social media including Cashapp ($JREED0225) and clothing sizes: women’s extra large shirts, size 17 and 22 pants, size nine and ten shoes. Men’s 6x shirts, 48x32 pants, and size 13 shoes. Boy’s size six/seven clothes, children’s size 11 shoes, size 10 slim pants, size eight shirts, and size two/two and a half shoes. The two-year-old twins wear size 3T.
The Red Cross is providing financial assistance for immediate needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and referrals to resources.
“In South Carolina, The Red Cross responds to an average of six home fires every day. In the colder months, there is unfortunately a 30% increase in home fires,” stated The Red Cross in a press release.
This is the first house fire of 2024 in Williston, after the end of 2023 saw numerous residences ablaze. The WFD responded to numerous house fires in 2023, one of which displaced a family of eleven.
The Brim Lane home was not the only fire WFD responded to last week. On January 4 around 3:30 a.m., WFD responded to Kelly Street to a fully involved vehicle fire which they suspected to have spread to the residence.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire before it spread, and the home only sustained thermal damage on the exterior.
The fire was reported by a neighbor who heard a loud boom and went to investigate. Residents of the home were not there at the time of the fire.
Elko Fire Department and Long Branch Fire Department were both called as mutual aid, but were canceled while en route as the fire had been extinguished by crews already on scene.
The Kelly Street case was turned over to the Williston Police Department and is being investigated for arson. According to WPD’s report, items found on the scene led officials to this suspicion.
