GEORGETOWN, SC — The exact cause of Sunday night’s fire that destroyed a popular Georgetown thrift store has not been determined. But fire officials say arson is not suspected.

The 2nd Chance Thrift Store on North Fraser was leveled by the blaze that took more than six hours to extinguish.

On Monday, owner Amanda McCants viewed the charred debris of clothing, furniture, shoes and books in the business on North Fraser Street.

McCants said she could reopen 2nd Chance in another location early next year, but it is too early to tell.

For now, she is trying to pick up the pieces and is thanking God neither she nor her children were in the thrift store when it caught fire around 6 p.m. Sunday.

“I was just praying to God that it didn’t happen the day before,” she said. “We were in there and my children were just running around playing.”

McCants said she opened the store in its original loca-

tion after she noticed some children at her son’s school didn’t always have what they needed.McCants has been in the thrift store business for about six years, she said.

She started in a smaller business on Church Street, then moved to another location on Highmarket.

She was at the store on North Fraser for about a year, she said.

The store didn’t make much money, but McCants said she often helped people who lost everything in house fires.

She provided clothing and bed linens to people in need, and business clothing to others going for job interviews.

With money from the store, she would also help families at Christmas, she said.

“That’s pretty much what I wanted to do when I started,” she said.

This past weekend, McCants had received a another shipment of donated clothes for women and children.

She spent Saturday sorting through the clothing, she said. She had also received new purses and jewelry for Christmas.

“I was going to do a holiday sale and try to help people out,” she said.

A family friend called her Sunday and told her there were fire trucks and smoke seen coming out of the building, she said.

The store and its contents were a total loss, she said.

McCants is getting text messages from many people she has helped. Her church, Maryville Pentecostal Holiness, has also been very supportive after the disaster.

“I’ve had a bunch of people text me and say they are more than willing to help,” she said.

Investigation continues

Assistant Fire Chief Bill Johnson said Tuesday they are looking at “several possibilities” for the fire but foul play is not suspected.

He said it started inside the building near the back wall and an electrical problem is one of the possible causes.

He said investigators have determined there was no one inside the building when the fire started. He said the locks on all the doors were checked and were OK and all the keys to the building were accounted for.

By Kelly M. Fuller and Scott Harper

Staff writers