Firefighters battled a blaze last Wednesday evening, which destroyed a longtime family home and left one person homeless just days after Christmas. There were no injuries reported from the blaze, which was called in just after 7:30 p.m. on Plantation Road near Signpine.

Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad spokesperson Hanna Carson said a neighbor was alerted to the fire after hearing a popping noise and called 911 stating the house was engulfed in flames. “First arriving units found the home to be fully involved, and the single occupant was not at home,” Carson said.

She reported that firefighters got the fire under control in about 30 minutes, and remained on scene for over two hours conducting overhaul operations.

The home’s owner, Claudia Banks of Ark, said her grandson was living there at the time. “Thank the Lord he wasn’t home,” Banks said. Her grandson is now staying with relatives, but lost everything in the fire, she said.

She sai...