BOYKINS—A Thursday fire that destroyed a Boykins-area home remains under investigation.

A safe with two handguns and personal papers was stolen from the home, said Capt. Gene Drewery with the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office. As of Tuesday, that was the only thing determined stolen, Drewery said.

At this point, the cause of the fire at the home of Leon Bolton is undetermined, Drewery said. When asked if it appears accidental or suspicious, he replied “undetermined.”

“There will be some interviews that will take place with different people,” Drewery said.

Boykins Fire Chief Clete Lassiter also called the fire’s cause “undetermined.”

When firefighters arrived at about 4:30 p.m., heavy fire and smoke were coming from the rear and sides of the home on Burntreed Road, Lassiter said.

No one was home when the fire broke out. Bolton lived at the home with his wife.

More than 40 firefighters from Boykins, Newsoms, Branchville, Courtland and Capron volunteer fire departments responded. No one was hurt, but high winds and rain made it difficult to fight the blaze, Lassiter said.

Firefighters were on scene for nearly six hours.

“We had to make sure we got all the hot spots,” Lassiter said. “The home had a basement and part of the structure collapsed.”

The home was insured, Drewery said.