A devastating fire engulfed the waterfront residence of a South Carolina judge and her former Democratic senator husband on Saturday, resulting in three individuals being hospitalized, as per officials and news reports.
Diana Goodstein, a Circuit Court Judge, saw her Edisto Beach home catch fire around noon, producing thick black smoke and prompting her husband, ex-state senator Arnold Goodstein, to leap from the first floor in a desperate bid to escape the flames, The Post and Courier reported.
Arnold Goodstein, along with two other individuals, were saved by neighbors and paramedics from a nearby marshy area, as resident Tom Peterson detailed to the newspaper.
The rescuers utilized kayaks to reach the trapped individuals, according to the St. Paul’s Fire District.
One individual was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina, while the other two occupants, whose identities remain undisclosed, were transported there via ground, according to Cpt. KC Campbell from Colleton County Fire Rescue.
Family sources indicated that Arnold was air-evacuated after sustaining multiple fractures in his hips, legs, and feet during his escape from the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house, FitsNews reported.
Diana Goodstein, aged 69, was reportedly walking along the beach with her dogs when the fire tragically destroyed their home within the lush confines of the Jeremy Cay gated community, according to Peterson.
The status of all three individuals who escaped was not immediately available.
A South Carolina native, Judge Diane Goodstein has held her judgeship since she was first elected in May 1998, as outlined in her biography.
Her husband, Arnold Goodstein, served in both the House and Senate of South Carolina at various intervals during the 1970s, representing Charleston County as a Democrat, as noted by The Nerve.
Additionally, Arnold Goodstein was the head of Summerville Homes, a prominent construction firm that ceased operations in 2008 and subsequently filed for bankruptcy, with liabilities amounting to $61 million, said the report.
The couple has two children: Arnold Samuel Goodstein II and Eve Schafer Goodstein, as stated on Diana’s biography page.
The State Law Enforcement Division is diligently investigating the incident, though the cause of the catastrophic fire remains undetermined, according to the report.
