Dorchester Fire Victims Find Treasured Flag Unscathed In Debris
DORCHESTER (CBS) -- After a four-alarm fire ripped through their home Saturday night, Cynthia Robinson and her daughter, Precious Smith, weren't left with much. Robinson can't believe her home is gone.
"Everything," she said. "We lost everything."
But one special item survived the fire unscathed--the flag given to the family after Smith's father, an army veteran, died six years ago.
"This is really a blessing," said 21-year-old Smith. "If we didn't get anything else out of the house, I'm so glad we got this flag."
Ten adults and six children were displaced when the fire gutted the Alpha Road home. Nobody was hurt, but the fire caused an estimated $750,000 in damage.
By the time fire crews arrived the three decker multi family home was fully engulfed. Thankfully everyone made it out alive.
"It was a raging flame and we got out the house just in time," Robinson, 55, said.
During the day, it was a sad scene as work crews began boarding up the home. But it was pure joy and excitement when cleanup workers presented the mother and daughter with the American flag that was given to them at Smith's father's funeral.
"This puts a smile on my face," said Robinson. "It was handed to me at his grave site. Today, I'm going to hand it to his daughter Precious."
Precious was glad that, after all they had lost, she still got to hold on to a piece of her father's life.
"It means a whole lot to me," Smith said. "I lost my dad when I was 15 years old."
Fire investigators have ruled the blaze accidental, saying it started after nail polish came in contact with a burning candle on the first floor.
