Five people, including a baby, escaped safely from an early fire that destroyed a south Richland home.
Flames started about 6 a.m. behind the house at 118 High Meadows St. off Leslie Road near the Meadow Springs Country Club.
One of the four adults living there woke up to the smell of smoke and alerted the others, said fire Capt. Josh Patterson.
The blaze spread quickly into the attic, said Richland Battalion Chief Ron Duncan. Richland firefighters spent 30 minutes getting the blaze under control but not before it burned through the roof and damaged three cars in the garage.
The American Red Cross and other agencies are working with the family to make sure they have a place to stay, Patterson said.
Firefighters are still investigating how the fire started, said Duncan.