Shortly before 1 p.m. this afternoon, the Greenville Fire Department responded to a house fire at 318 South Pine Street.

Firefighters worked for nearly an hour to extinguish the blaze at what used to be known as the Steiner House, but now belongs to the Odom family.

All seven members of the Odom family escaped the home, but there were several animal lives lost, including dogs, cats and birds.

“Everything we had was in that front room,” said Thelma Odom.

The Greenville Fire Department is unsure at this time what caused the fire, and several family members report being asleep when the blaze started.

“I’m just in shock right now,” said Sam Odom. “I guess this is the Lord’s way of telling us to move on. There are a lot of memories in that house.”

More information will be available as the GFD investigates.