By By GREG KATSKI
Community Editor
A local family lost its second home since the beginning of the year on Sunday night when a friend’s house they were staying in caught fire.
“We’ve certainly had some bad luck,” said fire victim Brian Belote about his family.
The fire started in the chimney of the Belote family’s temporary home on Whichards Beach Road in Chocowinity at about 9:45 p.m., according to Belote. Belote and his wife, Denise, were getting ready to turn off the gas logs in the fireplace of the double-wide trailer when they heard a crackling noise outside that at first sounded like heavy rain, Belote said.
When the couple noticed it wasn’t raining, they went outside to see where the noise was coming from and saw that the roof of the house was on fire. Belote called emergency services and got the rest of his family out of the house.
Firefighters with the Chocowinity Fire Department were first to respond to the house fire, but by the time the fire was put out, the double-wide was a total loss, Belote said.
Belote said he started the gas logs for the first time on Saturday evening as the first cold weather of the season moved in.
“We used it (the fireplace) Saturday and had no problems,” he said.
Belote said he was extra cautious with the gas logs.
“I took out the (gas) lines and cleaned out the fire place,” he said.
Belote thinks that something in the chimney or attic caught fire, and spread the fire to the roof.
“It went up fast,” he said. “They (trailers) don’t fare well in fires.”
While the double-wide was a total loss, Belote said his family had few personal belongings in the house. Most of the Belote family’s keepsakes have been kept in storage since an electrical fire forced them to vacate their longtime home off of River Road in the Ridgewood neighborhood on April 15.
Since then, Belote said his family has gotten plenty of support from the community.
“My family, neighbors and the community have been wonderful,” Belote said.
The first Saturday after his family’s house burnt down, Belote said he received a surprise from Boy Scouts of America Troop 21. Belote, who is the troop’s Scoutmaster, said the troop showed up at the doorstep of the fire-damaged house to help clean up.
Since then, help has continued to pour in from the community for the Belote family.
Belote said another friend has offered up her second house for the family to stay in until Belote is finished refurbishing his house in Ridgewood.
“She hopefully won’t be the next victim,” Belote said with a chuckle.
Belote, who gutted his house to the frame and is building it back up with the help of some friends, said he expects his family to be back in their first house by April.
“It’s going to be alright,” he said.