South Carolina Judge’s $Million Beach Mansion Burns Down | WATCH

A fire tore through the waterfront home of South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diana Goodstein and her husband, former Democratic state senator Arnold Goodstein, on Saturday, leaving three people injured and hospitalized, authorities said. The fire broke out around midday at the couple’s residence in the Jeremy Cay gated community on Edisto Beach, a barrier island southwest of Charleston. The blaze sent thick plumes of black smoke into the air, drawing emergency responders and neighbours to the scene. According to The Post and Courier, the judge’s husband was forced to leap from the first floor of their three-storey home to escape the flames. Several neighbours and paramedics later rescued him and two others from a marshy area behind the property. “They were in a remote, difficult-to-reach spot,” local resident Tom Peterson told the outlet. Emergency workers reportedly used kayaks to reach the trio, according to the St. Paul’s Fire District.Colleton County Fire Rescue Captain KC Campbell said one person was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina, while the other two were transported by ambulance. Sources close to the Goodstein family told FitsNews that Arnold Goodstein sustained multiple fractures to his hips, legs and feet when he jumped from the burning structure. Judge Diana Goodstein, 69, was walking on the beach with her dogs when the fire engulfed the house, Peterson said. She reportedly returned to find the home — a four-bedroom, four-bathroom waterfront property — consumed by flames. Authorities have not yet released an update on the condition of the three individuals rescued from the scene. The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed that it is investigating the incident, though the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined. Judge Goodstein, a South Carolina native, was first elected to the state’s Circuit Court in May 1998 and has served continuously since, according to her official biography. Her husband, Arnold Goodstein, previously represented Charleston County in the South Carolina House of Representatives and later in the state Senate during the 1970s. In addition to his political career, he led Summerville Homes, a home-building company that filed for bankruptcy in 2008, reporting debts exceeding $61 million, according to The Nerve. The couple share two children, Arnold Samuel Goodstein II and Eve Schafer Goodstein, according to the judge’s biography page. As of Sunday evening, officials continued to assess the scene as investigators worked to determine what sparked the devastating blaze that reduced the Goodsteins’ home to ashes.