Family loses home to fire
Strong wind gusts feed flames, hamper firefighters' efforts
A dozen firefighters battled fierce winds and flames Wednesday afternoon as fire raced through a mobile home in North Charleston and left destruction in its path.
Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier
John Watkins hugs his sister-in-law Amy McGrew after Watkins' mobile home was destroyed by fire Wednesday.
Amanda Watkins watched, shaking and puffing nervously at her cigarette, as the blaze consumed all of her family's belongings. She spotted one of her four children standing nearby and pointed at his socked feet.
"What is he going to do with no shoes?" she cried.
Watkins was inside with the children about 3:45 p.m., when the fire began in a rear bedroom of the home on Stafford Road off Ashley Phosphate Road. "It had to be electrical," she said.
She said a garden hose had little effect. The National Weather Service in Charleston said winds were 25 to 35 mph with gusts as fast as 40 mph. They fueled the fire, which quickly engulfed the interior of the home from end to end.
To help:
To assist this family or others, donations can be sent to the American Red Cross, 8085 Rivers Ave. Suite F, North Charleston, SC 29406 or by calling 843-764-2323. Online donations can be made at the Red Cross web site.
"My whole trailer is on fire," Watkins told a caller on her cell phone. "It's gone."
At times, the water flowing from the firefighters' hoses seemed pointless. Gusts sprayed it in all directions.
"That's why they were having a heck of a time putting it out," said fire Battalion Chief Eric Phillips, but he credited the firefighters with saving an adjacent home.
Watkins and her husband, John Watkins, had been sleeping in the living room so their four children could share the two bedrooms of the 1979 mobile home. It was paid off, but no one would insure it because it was too old, Amanda Watkins said.
Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier
Firefighters battle the blaze at Watkins' home on Stafford Road in North Charleston.
The couple's children are Brandon Watkins, 15; John Watkins Jr., 12; Devon Watkins 11; and Tyler Watkins, 8. They have family in the area, and the Lowcountry Chapter of the American Red Cross was en route to help.
Amanda Watkins drives an ice-cream truck part time, and John Watkins works for Bozzelli Services Heating & Air Conditioning Co. The couple had bought the children an Xbox 360 and two television sets for Christmas.
Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
This article has 13 comment(s)
Posted by Lois_Lane on January 8, 2009 at 5:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is ridiculous. EVERYTHING should be able to be insured. I know how it is to loose everything because a mobile home is "too old" to be insured. Had to start from scratch basically after Hurricane Hugo. And got no "hand out" from the government either. Insurance laws should be changed a bit. I feel sad for this couple.
Posted by ms_lady2u on January 8, 2009 at 7:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This was awfully sad yesterday, things just happens so fast you just never know when it's going to hit home! Best wishes to the family.
Posted by suec on January 8, 2009 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You can get insurance. I live in a 1974 double wide that we completely remodeled. I have insurance with Foremost.
Posted by suec on January 8, 2009 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
to add...
A 1970's mobile home is not worth anything so the insurance actually covers mostly contents. You can't give away a MH that old.
It woudl be liek getting auto collision insurance on a 1989 taurus. if you total it, what are they gonna pay you? $500 maybe?
Posted by Lois_Lane on January 8, 2009 at 11:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
johnnyholmes - you ain't right! That's funny...
But the fact is people being told that their dwelling is too old to insure is not right. Not everybody can afford to live in fancy houses.
Posted by suec on January 8, 2009 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
agin...you can insure an old MH. Foremost Insurance. I know. I have it.
Maybe they just called State Farm, Nationwide..all the big name companies.
Posted by GreenvilleGirl on January 8, 2009 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They could have gotten insurance, had they looked hard enough. They may not have wanted to pay the premiums. Also, in SC, companies will issue insurance policies and then cancel them if your credit is not good. They say people with poor credit are more likely to commit arson. Whatever.
They were probably busy with children, jobs, etc., and neglected to follow up and get it insured.
So sad. But ironic how the woman was puffing on her cigarette saying it had to be an electrical fire? Is it possible it could have been a cigarette?
Posted by armymom on January 8, 2009 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
suec: I wonder if the fact that your old home was completely remodeled made a difference? I have no idea, just thinking.
Maybe they will let us know when it's discovered what caused the fire.
Is it me, or has there been way more fires around here lately than you would call normal??
Thank God no one was killed or hurt.
Posted by suec on January 8, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They did not ask if we had done any work on the MH. We were still in the process of doing work when we got the insurance.
Google MH insurance. A bunch of places insure MHs.
Of course you can't get 50k of insurance on something that is worth $500. But you can make the bulk of the policy cover personal belongings or adjacent structures. Then at least she would have gotten enough $ to buy shoes, clothes, etc. It would have covered the Xbox and 2 new TVs.
Posted by boobooqueen on January 8, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
having known this family i can guarantee you its not the age of the mh, its that they would never have paid the premiums and their credit would have caused it to be cancelled anyway.
and yes, it is more than likely that it was caused by cigarettes.
i do feel sorry for the kids though.
Posted by Chas_Girlygirl on January 8, 2009 at 7:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WTF! Now white people have lost their home to fire,
and they aren't insured.
They are SOL,
there will be NO happy follow up story here.
Posted by SC_mommie on January 9, 2009 at 3:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Whether or not the MH & it's contents could've/should've been covered is now moot... And, negative comments re: the family aren't helpful either. Please, keep in mind that family members & their loved ones may be reading what you've written. My husband knows this family through his work. He spoke w/Mrs. Watkins on the phone last night & although the family has shelter & is safe- they have needs that haven't been met. Food is their greatest need right now. Clothing is their next... Household items of any sort would be greatly appreciated, but they have nowhere to put anything right now. Red Cross has helped, but they can only do so much... Please, consider lending a helping hand! You'll never go wrong helping another, ever... Whether is be money, things they need or simply your time- I know it'll be greatly appreciated! (She mentioned that they have only so long to clear the lot of their burned-out home & things. I honestly don't know how these things are typically handled, but when my mother had a fire- it took long hours of hard labor to get rid of the mess. I'm willing to bet they could use the hands-on help!)
Just my humble thoughts & opinions... Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day!!
Posted by brittney0305 on January 13, 2009 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hi amanda and john its brittney from bonneau beach im sorry to hear about your loss i haven't talked to you guys in a couple years an i would really like to help ima post my e-mail on this page so you maybe can e-mail me and we can get in touch with each other i really hope the kids are all okay atleast no one got hurt but my e-mail is itsxbryttaniex@yahoo.com hopefully ill hear from you guys soon much love