‘This is going to be a long road’: Jacksonville mom trying to recover from fire that destroyed home

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A family was displaced from their Moncrief home on Christobel Avenue after it was destroyed in a fire.

The fire sparked early Wednesday morning. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said no one was injured but the Red Cross was called to assist the family because the house was destroyed.

Shawonna Lumpkin said if it wasn’t for their dog barking she wouldn’t have known her house was on fire.

“When I got up, I walked into my hallway, and I just smelled smoke,” Lumpkin said. “I tried to walk into the kitchen, but it was just too much smoke. I knew that something was burning.”

Lumpkin grabbed her son in a panic and ran out the door.

“All I knew was just to get out of the house. It was so much smoke. It’s not like I could grab anything. I just had to go,” Lumpkin said.

Clothes, furniture and heirlooms are just a few items destroyed in the fire. Her car was also destroyed in the fire.

One day after the fire, Lumpkin returned home to access the damage and learned someone had robbed the home.

Lumpkin said her TV, shoes and clothes were stolen.

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“I feel horrible because I can’t do anything about it,” Lumpkin said.

She says she’s stressed after all that she’s endured.

“He’s very nervous. He’s scared. He didn’t sleep well at night. I don’t really sleep well as you know, because, you know, I’m just nervous and scared. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I don’t know what we’re gonna do tomorrow. We have nothing but the clothes we left out the house with,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin hopes she can find a safe place for her family to call home.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been electrical, but JFRD hasn’t confirmed that.

“My hope is to be able to get us somewhere so my kids can be safe somewhere where we can rebuild because this is going to be a very long road. We have a lot to get back. That was a lot gone and taken from us. So we have to rebuild and I just want them to be safe and feel comfortable in their own home again,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin created a GoFundMe for support during this unexpected time.