Family loses everything in morning fire

DORCHESTER — One spark took everything Brooke Duncan and her three children had this morning.

Their home and everything inside — clothes, furniture and Christmas presents — were destroyed by fire that started just hours after they finished moving in.

"Everything is gone," Duncan said. "Everything."

Dorchester Volunteer Fire Captain John Poole said the mobile home at 353 Limestone Road was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. He said it started somewhere in the kitchen and appears to be accidental.

Duncan said the mobile home was a sign of things looking up for her and her family. In the past year, she lost her job and was evicted from her home. They have been staying with family until she finally saved up enough money to rent the mobile home. She said she had just saved enough money to turn the power on this morning.

Duncan said she was inside a neighbor's home when a teenager started banging on their front door, yelling that there was a fire.

"I ran out and realized it was my trailer," she said.

Duncan ran inside to save what she could but she said the smoke and flames forced her out.

"I came out and fell to my knees and started crying because it was all gone," she said.

The Lowcountry Chapter of the American Red Cross is on its way to talk to Duncan.