ELKTON, Md. — They left home to get haircuts for their five children, and when Demetria and Alfred Coleman returned they learned of the fire that has now forced them from their home.
“We are trying to see what we can save out of there, but like you said, a lot of things are smoke damaged and two of the rooms were completely damaged and destroyed,” Demetria told us.
Family of seven displaced in Elkton fire
A nearby neighbor, Sara Baranski, watched as firetrucks arrived on the scene even capturing it on camera and later assisted the family of seven upon their return.
“No one was in the house luckily and there were no pets or anything so that was good news. It’s all material things,” said Baranski, “but it looked like it was on the top floor. You could just see smoke billowing out the top and firemen got up there and cut holes in the roof.”
Investigators have preliminarily determined some hot work underway on the structure ignited some roofing materials sparking the fire.
The Colemans spotted a work truck outside as they headed off on their errands but didn’t think anything of it at the time.
“The said there were two people working on the house in the back,” said Alfred, “They said we have holes in the roof, and I don’t know what they did. We left when they were here.”
The family is now having to regroup with the children about to start a new school year and no guarantee they will have the resources to cover what’s been lost in the fire.
“If anyone is willing to help in any way, they can reach out to me on Facebook,” the mother told us, “My Facebook name is Demetria Coleman. Nothing is too small. Nothing is too big. Whatever. Even just prayers to uplift our family and keep us encouraged as we go through this journey.”
