Saturday morning, a house fire claimed the life of a Williamsburg County man.

According to Chief Randy Swinton with Williamsburg County Fire Department, a passerby saw the fire at a home on Highway 261, about four miles east of Hemingway. That person then called 911.

Swinton says by the time crews got to the scene, flames covered the house. He says after they put out the fire, they found the body of the homeowner at the back of the house.

Williamsburg County Coroner Harrison McKnight said the victim is 63-year-old Roy Edward Poston.

McKnight says it appears Poston was trying to escape the fire, and an autopsy was ordered to determine a cause of death.

Swinton says the man lived alone. He says at this point they're not sure if there was a smoke detector inside because the fire destroyed the home.

The Williamsburg County Sheriff's Department is investigating what caused the fire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report