Family loses home in fire

A Catherine Lake area family is homeless after a fire destroyed their house early Monday.

“We only had four more years to pay off,” David Brooks said of the home at 2021 Catherine Lake Road he purchased in 1985 with his wife Janice Brooks.

The couple; their daughter, Melody; and two grandsons, Harley, 5, and Richard, 8 months, were coping with the loss of their home and trying to salvage anything they could from the gutted home late Monday morning.

David Brooks, a disabled Gulf War Marine veteran, said he planned to use the family’s vacation travel trailer as a temporary home once the three-day stay at a local hotel provided by the Red Cross expires.

He and his daughter sifted through the ruins while his wife sat on a truck tailgate and held their youngest grandson. The 5-year-old, Harley, played with a toy train a neighbor had given him to replace all of the toys the child lost in the fire.

The family dogs, a Chihuahua and a toy poodle, either slept in the backseat of a car or sought the comfort of their masters’ arms.

A car, boat and half of the house was burned to the ground, leaving just a portion of the structure with gaping holes in the roof.

Fire investigators say they believe a fire began in a car parked close to the residence and spread to the house at about 2:30 a.m.

“We lost everything,” Janice Brooks said, adding that she was thankful her family was unharmed.

The couple’s daughter said she awoke to a crackling noise and checked that end of the house to see flames coming through the walls. She alerted everyone, the family grabbed their dogs and escaped the fire, which engulfed the house seconds after they made it to safety.

Rhodestown Road and Back Swamp volunteer firefighters battled the blaze from 2:45 until just after 7 a.m.

The house — valued at $49,560, according to the Onslow County Tax Office — is a total loss, fire officials said.

The Brooks family said they are insured.

The Red Cross has provided some basic necessities to the family to include a change of clothes. Anyone wishing to donate money to the family can send a check or money order to 2021 Catherine Lake Road, Richlands, NC 28574.

Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lkay@freedomenc.com. Read his crime blog, "Off the Cuff," at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.