Officials are continuing to work today to confirm the identity of a person who died in a house fire yesterday.

Around 10:37 yesterday morning, Newberry City firefighters were called to a house fire at 213 Caldwell St., near the 121 By-pass.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, flames were coming from the windows of the home and they were told a person was trapped inside.

As emergency radios called for the Friendly Fire Department to send manpower, the tower truck was also taken to the scene to rain water from above on the fire that could be seen from more than seven miles away.

Newberry County Coroner Craig Newton has confirmed that one person, believed to be a teen or young adult, was killed in the fire.

An autopsy was being performed at press time to confirm the identity of the victim and the cause of death.

Newberry Fire Chief Keith Minick said there were other people in the home when the fire started, and that they were able to leave the residence.

However, he added there is “no evidence of working smoke alarms” in the home.

Minick said the cause of the fire has not been determined, but he does not expect to find foul play.

An investigation into the cause of the fire by the Newberry Fire and Police departments, the Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is continuing today.

SLED was called to the scene as the fire involved a death.

The fire totally destroyed the home, and damaged the siding on the house next door at 211 Caldwell St.

This is not the first time that a house at 211 Caldwell St. has been involved in a fatal fire. In February 2007, two women were killed when the 211 Caldwell St. house caught fire on a Sunday evening.

Prosperity firefighters were also called to cover Newberry and the Friendly areas, due to the two departments’ equipment and personnel fighting flames at the Caldwell Street scene.

Minick says more than 40 firefighters from around the county responded to the calls for help at the Caldwell Street fire.

Both Newton and Minick say more details about the victim of the fire and its cause will be released later today.

Details of the story will be posted at www.newberryobserver.com as they are released.