HAMLET — A family was left without a home — or presents for their children — three days away from Christmas after their Lumbee Lane home caught fire early Friday morning.
The home, a modified mobile home with a cement addition, was fully engulfed in flames when the fire fighters arrived, according to Bill Bayless, deputy chief of the East Rockingham Fire Department.
There were no injuries, but the house was a “total loss,” Bayless said.
Two adults and two children lived at the home, but it’s unclear whether they were all in the house when the fire started. The male resident told the Daily Journal that the fire burned his children’s Christmas presents. He said the family has reached out to support services including the Red Cross, but will likely stay with friends until they figure out their next move.
One of the adult residents woke up their neighbor to use his phone to call 911. That neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said they told him it was an electrical fire that started in the bedroom, though Bayless said the cause has not yet been determined.
“It was so far gone it was hard to tell,” Bayless said. “With a mobile home, the (roof) caves in and you can’t really get in to look around.”
The neighbor said that after he woke up and first saw the fire, it took about seven minutes before the home was fully engulfed.
Bayless said the fire was under control by 4:30 a.m. He estimated the damage to be around $75,000 including everything inside. There was no damage to any neighboring structures or any spread to the nearby forest. The heat from the blaze melted the family’s trampoline and clothesline poles which were 10 to 15 feet away from the house on either side.
The cement portion of the home was still standing, though charred, but the trailer portion was completely caved in. Large strips of siding were laid next to the home. There was still smoke coming out of a tall pipe Friday afternoon but all the remaining embers had been extinguished.
Crews from Cordova Fire and Rescue also responded.
Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674 or [email protected].