Chimney Sweep Near Me Edisto Beach, SC

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Newly released 911 calls from a massive October fire on Edisto Island reveal four people were trapped inside the home, desperately trying to find a way to escape.

Located on a remote part of the island in the Jeremy Cay Community, the home belonged to State Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein. The Oct. 7 fire sent three people to the hospital, Colleton County Fire Rescue said. One of those patients was airlifted to MUSC, officials said.

Initially, there was speculation the fire was intentionally set, but the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said of arson.

Colleton County received a total of 16,911 calls from those inside the home and neighbors who described seeing the property up in flames.

The first caller, presumed to be Diane Goodstein’s husband, Arnold Goodstein, is heard yelling fire with alarms in the home sounding.

“We are on Edisto Island. We gotta get out of there,” he said.

A dispatcher asked him if there were people inside the house and Arnold Goodstein said four people were trapped.

“No, we’re trapped! We are trapped in the house,” he replied.

He continued to tell a dispatcher that the fire was coming from under the house. What sounded like explosions are heard on the call, with continued confusion and yelling occurring in the background.

The house’s first floor is elevated from the ground and the injured had to jump to the ground, including Arnold Goodstein, whom can be heard physically jumping along with his reaction to hitting the ground.

“Help! I broke my legs. Help,” he said.

His son soon took over the 911 call and said they were not inside the home anymore after jumping off a balcony.

“He’s 81. He jumped. He hurt his leg,” the son said.

Other voices continue in the background of the phone call, with concerns mounting as the emergency unfolded.

“Get to the water, just to be safe,” a voice on the call said. “I am worried about the propane tank. It’s going to blow.”

Video from the fire department showed the home fully engulfed in flames. Drone photos taken over the scene later showed only a few charred wooden supports standing amid the blackened rubble.

Phone calls from neighbors who also called 911 detail how truly large the fire was.

“There is a ton of smoke out here. It just started about five minutes ago,” one caller said. “Holy s***. That’s fully engulfed.”

“The whole house is in flames. Oh my god,” another neighbor said.

SLED’s investigation is still underway.

“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set,” SLED Chief Mark Keel said. “SLED agents have preliminarily found there is no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion.”

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

South Carolina law enforcement and political leaders moved quickly to quell speculation about a fire which consumed a beach home belonging to a Palmetto State judge over the weekend.

As FITSNews first reported, the Edisto Beach, S.C. home of state circuit court judge Diane Goodstein and her husband, former state senator Arnold Goodstein, burned to the ground on Saturday morning (October 4, 2025). While the judge was not in the home at the time of the conflagration, her husband, son and grandchild were hospitalized in its aftermath after they were forced to evacuate the residence by leaping from an elevated first floor.

Arnold Goodstein – who was airlifted from the scene – reportedly underwent surgery on Monday (October 6, 2025) in connection with the multiple fractures he is said to have sustained during the evacuation. There is no immediate word as to his prognosis.

According to sources close to the family, Goodstein was credited with braving smoke and flames to ensure all of his relatives had been evacuated from the home prior to jumping from the elevated first floor balcony.

Initial reports from the scene strongly suggested arson might have played a role in the conflagration – as did reports of explosions on the property around the time the fire broke out. Judge Goodstein also previously received death threats – further fueling the speculation. When the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)’s arson unit confirmed it was investigating the incident, it seemed clear where things were headed.

As we reported yesterday morning, though, our law enforcement sources indicated investigators had “not immediately uncovered evidence of criminality associated with the fire.”

That information was confirmed later in the day when SLED chief Mark Keel issued a statement updating the public on the status of the investigation.

“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set,” Keel said. “SLED agents have preliminarily found there is no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion.”

“The investigation into the fire is still active and ongoing,” Keel added. “Upon the conclusion of the investigation, SLED will issue a follow up statement with additional information. I urge our citizens, elected officials, and members of the press to exercise good judgement and not share information that has not been verified.”

Keel’s statement was amplified by S.C. governor Henry McMaster.

“There is no evidence the horrific fire at Judge Goodstein’s Edisto home was intentionally set,” McMaster wrote on X. “I echo Chief Keel’s call for everyone to exercise good judgment and avoid sharing unverified information while the investigation continues.”

While Keel and McMaster sought to downplay the arson speculation, a statement issued by the über-liberal S.C. trial lawyer lobby ramped it up.

“An attack or threat to a judge is a threat to the rule of law,” the group’s leader, Ashley Creech, said in comments provided to Lowcountry media. “It is deeply concerning that our current climate is such that any judge might face threats or attacks for their rulings. As a society and as a state, we must reject hostility and intimidation in all forms.”

Veteran Palmetto political strategist Wesley Donehue rebuked Creech – and called out the trial lawyers for their hypocrisy.

“South Carolina(’s) trial lawyer association paid off MAGA influencers to fight tort reform through personal attacks and then quickly blames a fire at a judges house, where SLED says there is no foul play, on MAGA violence,” Donehue wrote on X.

is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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EDISTO ISLAND — No human factors contributed to the blaze that burned a South Carolina judge’s home to the ground sparking a stream of speculation about what — or who — was responsible for the inferno, according to new details from the local fire department.

The Edisto Beach Fire Department received the first reports of a house fire at 10:38 a.m. on Oct. 4, according to an incident report provided to The Post and Courier on Oct. 16. The newspaper submitted a public records request for the document on Oct. 6.

What triggered the fire has not been determined, with the newly released report only stating no human act was a contributor.

SLED Chief Mark Keel previously stated the cause is not believed to be arson.

The three-story, 4,200-square-foot home belonged to Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein and her husband, former state senator Arnold Goodstein. Edisto Island residents and faraway social media users alike began wondering if the cause was related to Goodstein’s recent ruling that temporarily blocked a demand from President Donald Trump’s administration for voter data. The speculation began while video footage of crackling orange flames and a thick plume of black smoke spread online.

Within 13 minutes of the first call, units had arrived at the home after navigating the thin dirt road and green metal gates that block the private Jeremy Cay Community off from the public.

The home sits off Planters Retreat Drive and atop a peninsula, according to the report. The position of the flames that engulfed the home and three vehicles blocked first responders from reaching four people who were stranded in the marshy backyard.

As firefighters began drafting water out of a nearby pond, EMS and good Samaritans devised a plan to rescue the former legislator and three family members. The judge was not home when the fire began.

A neighbor’s canoe floated the family from the peninsula to an adjacent bank, where they were transported to hospitals.

At one point during the three hours and 35 minutes that firefighters remained on the scene, one unit had to “reposition their apparatus due to explosions at the front of the house,” according to the incident report, which does not further elaborate about the explosions.

The report, which was printed at 5:12 p.m. on Oct. 7, said it was “undetermined” what first ignited the blaze, where it originated or what was the heat source.

It was not confirmed whether a detector was present in the home, though the report did clarify that no auto-extinguishing system was found.

Property damage was estimated at $2 million and $150,000 in content losses resulted from the blaze.

The report clarified that no human factors contributed to the incident. The cause of ignition was listed as “under investigation,” which is being led by the State Law Enforcement Division.

Keel issued a statement on Oct. 6 that confirmed SLED had not found any evidence that indicated the fire was deliberately set or caused by a detonation.

The agency has not made another public statement. Its investigation remains ongoing.

Three people were hospitalized with injuries as a result of the fire.

On Saturday, October 4, the home of South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Schafer Goodstein burned down, prompting a flurry of media coverage from mainstream publications across the spectrum that relied on unconfirmed, nebulous sourcing and spread split narratives.

The judge’s house, valued at over $1.5 million and located in Edisto Beach, SC, reportedly caught fire around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday while she was out walking her dogs on the beach.

When the fire broke out, her husband, former Democratic state senator Arnold Goodstein, was reportedly home with other family members. The family was forced to jump out the window of the three-story waterfront property and was later rescued from the adjacent marshland. Three were reportedly hospitalized, and Arnold Goodstein, age 81, reportedly suffered serious injuries.

The South Carolina Supreme Court’s Chief Justice John Kittredge reportedly sent a message on Saturday afternoon that the fire was caused by an “apparent explosion,” prompting an investigation from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

All of this was reported on October 4 by the South Carolinian outlet FITSNews (not rated by AllSides), which described the fire as “alleged arson” and reported speaking to “multiple sources close to Goodstein” who said she had received death threats in recent weeks and years.

Though it wasn’t mentioned in FITSNews’ report, on September 2, Goodstein temporarily blocked South Carolina’s election commission from complying with an executive order President Trump signed in March that stated intentions of “preserving and protecting” American election integrity. South Carolina’s Supreme Court overturned her ruling about a week later, on September 11.

Around 4 p.m. ET on October 6, SLED chief Mark Keel announced the organization did not find evidence “to indicate the fire was intentionally set” or “to support a pre-fire explosion.”

Nonetheless, on the same day, a litany of major mainstream publications had already decided to run with the aforementioned details, spinning, slanting, and sensationalizing coverage to guide readers and one Democratic congressman to believe the fire was an act of political violence.

FITSNews appeared to be the only news source that offered original reporting from the area and the source of the narratives that manifested through both national and international media.

Though AllSides has not rated FITSNews for bias, its coverage can be looked at in tandem with that of its South Carolinian peer, Live 5 WCSC (Center bias). WCSC, ostensibly not as close to the situation as FITSNews was, authored much shorter and more cautious coverage on October 4. WCSC’s coverage noted that three were sent to the hospital, that the fire’s origins were “unclear,” and that Chief Justice Kittredge said there was “an incident involving Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein.”

But several major mainstream publications ran with the narrative implied by FITSNews’ original report, that there was an “explosion” and Goodstein had received death threats in recent weeks. They also mostly coupled this with Goodstein’s since-overturned ruling against Trump in early September.

The following outlets mentioned FITSNews by name in coverage:

People (Lean Left) wrote the headline:

Time Magazine (Lean Left) wrote:

The Independent (Lean Left) wrote in its headline, and then in its subhead that Goodstein “ruled against Trump administration last month.”

The Telegraph (Lean Right), a Lean Right outlet that has been notably critical of Trump and the American right in recent months, wrote:

The Telegraph also misled readers by writing, “The cause of the fire remains unclear, but local officials reported it began with an ‘explosion’ and that Judge Goodstein had received death threats in the past month.” The South Carolinian official the publication appeared to be referring to was Chief Justice Kittredge, who was FITSNews’ source for saying there was an “explosion.”

While Kittredge is presumably in touch with Goodstein, South Carolina’s Supreme Court is located a 2.5-hour drive away in the capital, Columbia. Attributing this quote to “local officials” implies that the report came from a group of officials who visited the scene of the incident, not a singular judge, who, in this instance, probably only knew what he was told by those in Edisto Beach – including Goodstein herself.

Neither Fox News (Right) nor The Daily Mail (Right) mentioned FITSNews by name, but both described the incident as a “suspected arson.”

Fox’s report was more cautious. It did not mention a potential “explosion” or the anonymously sourced FITSNews detail that Goodstein had recently been receiving death threats. It also didn’t mention that the judge recently ruled against Trump, though neither did FITSNews.

Fox did link to The Daily Mail’s coverage, however, which included an exclusive quote from Goodstein herself, who told the paper, “I’m alright.”

Fox’s headline initially said the fire was a “possible arson,” also indicative of its gentler approach, and when SLED determined there was no evidence to support this, it updated its headline accordingly.

The New York Post (Lean Right) took a similar approach to Fox, though it didn’t mention that “arson” was a possibility and just noted that SLED was investigating.

Perhaps equally notable is that several major outlets held off on covering the story altogether until there was more official information available.

For instance, neither Associated Press (Left) nor The New York Times (Lean Left) touched the story until later on October 6, when local officials said there was no evidence of arson. Neither outlet mentioned Goodstein’s ruling against Trump or the alleged threats she faced, and only mentioned an “explosion” in the context that authorities found no reason to believe there was one.

The Wall Street Journal (Center) took a similar approach by waiting, though it mentioned in a photo footnote that Goodstein recently ruled against Trump.

Reuters (Center), on the other hand, never even published a story about the fire.

While it was primarily outlets from the left that gave air to the notion that Goodstein’s house burning down could have been an act of retribution or political violence, the bias present in this story may go a bit deeper than just left and right.

With outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and New York Times deliberating before covering it, and outlets like The New York Post, People, and Newsweek covering it quickly, it could reveal that some outlets have a higher standard for what is credible reporting.

Within the group of outlets that did jump on the story, Fox and The New York Post handled the story more carefully. This could be for the same reason that the aforementioned outlets deliberated over covering the story. Or it could be that they didn’t want to give air to the idea that the fire could have been an act of political violence, like some of their peers on the left were less careful in doing.

Furthermore, British outlets The Daily Mail and The Telegraph stood apart from Fox and The Post and ran coverage more similar to American outlets like People and Newsweek. Both of these British outlets have generally been of the American right during Trump’s presidency than American outlets on the right have been.

In any case, the story is a perfect example of why readers should look for primary sources and original reports, stay patient, and consume media from outlets of all different types and biases before jumping to conclusions.

is a News and Social Media Editor at AllSides. He has a Center bias.

This piece was edited and reviewed by , News Editor & Bias Analyst (Left), and , Research & Growth Strategist (Lean Right).

EDISTO ISLAND, S.C. —

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says there is currently no evidence to support that the fire at the home of a circuit court judge was intentionally set.

On Saturday afternoon, the St. Paul's Fire District received reports of a fire with entrapment at a home in a gated area off Planters Retreat in Jeremy Cay on Edisto Island.

SPFD responded to assist the Edisto Beach Fire Department in extinguishing the fire and looking for occupants.

Fire officials said the area is located on a barrier island with significant challenges such as limited water supply and tight areas.

According to officials, the occupants escaped the home by jumping from an elevated first floor. The occupants had to be rescued from the backyard using kayaks.

Three people were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina: One was airlifted and the other two were taken by ambulance. The current condition of the victims are unknown.

The Supreme Court of South Carolina later confirmed that the home was linked to Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein.

On Monday afternoon, SLED Chief Mark Keel released a statement about the fire saying:

“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set.

SLED Agents have preliminarily found there is no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion.

The investigation into the fire is still active and ongoing.

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, SLED will issue a follow up statement with additional information.

I urge our citizens, elected officials, and members of the press to exercise good judgement and not share information that has not been verified.”