Investigators ruled that an accidental fire in Lauderdale destroyed a family’s home Thursday afternoon.

Volunteers from the Lauderdale and Toomsuba fire service responded to the fire around 1:30 p.m.

“We arrived on the scene to find what we believed at the time was a 12-by-70 trailer on fire,” Allan Dover, the Lauderdale County Fire Coordinator, said. “It turned out it was two smaller trailers interconnected and close together.”

Dover said that when responders arrived the fire had engulfed 60 or 70 percent of the home.

“We had to pull the back one off in order to put it out,” Dover said. 

Dover said that a mother and four children lived at the home. No one was at home at the time of the fire and no one was injured, Dover said.

A visit to the home Friday revealed a collapsed roof and soot spread over wet, destroyed clothing. A burnt stove had been removed from the home and a damaged metal door covered the blackened front steps.

Dover said the fire had been ruled accidental and said he had asked the American Red Cross to assist the family. The Red Cross confirmed it had assisted the family but couldn’t release more details.