No one but the family dog was home when fire broke out.
FARMINGTON – A family of four lost their belongings Wednesday evening when flames tore through their mobile home on Route 27. Steve and Prudy Nile had no insurance.
Prudy Nile watched from the side of the road as fire destroyed her family’s home. Her two children, Lucas, 12, and Katie, 10, stood nearby shedding tears. The family’s dog, Runt, was in the car. Steve Nile crouched down in the side yard as he watched firefighters work.
The mobile home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. The Niles were not home.
Prudy Nile said she had just gotten back from taking her daughter’s friend home after attending an art show at Cascade Brook School.
“It happened within a short period of time,” she said.
While she stood outside watching her home burn, she got a call on her cell phone.
“What home?” Nile asked the caller. “I don’t have a home; my home is on fire.”
She paused to wipe a tear. “We’re all OK,” she said before disconnecting.
Runt had been at home at the time the fire breaks out. The family, Nile said, always leaves the dog inside when they leave.
“I don’t know how he got out,” Nile said. “Thank God, he got out. I’m very thankful everybody is OK. I lost everything; all my kids’ baby pictures,” she said. “Nothing was possibly saved. We’ve got good relatives; we’ve got good friends.”
Nile said she and her family would stay with Steve’s father, Doug Nile, in New Vineyard Wednesday evening.
The family had only the clothes they were wearing. Farmington Fire Rescue Chaplain Stan Wheeler had notified the American Red Cross.
The family will be looking to replace all their clothing and find a home. Lucas, who attends Mount Blue Middle School, wears size 18 pants, medium shirts and size 10 shoes. Katie wears size 12 pants, size 12-14 shirts and size 6-7 shoes, her mother said.
Prudy Nile wears size 14 pants, large shirts and size 8 shoes. Her husband wears size 36 pants, 32 length, extra-large shirts and size 10 shoes.
Firefighters from Farmington, New Vineyard, Industry and Wilton were called to the scene, but it was too late to save the structure.
Farmington resident Frank Gilbert said the fire happened quickly. He had driven by at 4 p.m., and there was nothing wrong, he said. The fire was reported at 6:43 p.m.
Firefighters were still at the scene at 8:30 p.m.
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