Submitted photoThe Watkins family lost everything in a house fire Thursday night. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

MERIDIAN, Miss. — A family of three credited their dog with their timely escape Thursday night when a fire heavily damaged their home and destroyed their belongings.

Adrienne Watkins and her two children, Rosa, 5, and Jeremiah, 7, woke up around 9 p.m. Thursday when their dog, Colonel, began barking.

“He started barking and at first (Watkins) thought something in her dryer was thumping but then she saw the fire on the front porch,” family friend Amy Shirley said. “They had to run through the flames to get out.”

Shirley said Watkins told her he’d saved their lives.

The family lost everything in the fire, Shirley said.

“She had to go to Ford today to get new keys because even her keys melted in the fire,” Shirley said, detailing how they used phone flashlights to search through the ashes at 1 a.m. Friday.

Volunteers from Bailey, Collinsville and Suqualena Fire & Rescue in Mississippi responded to the fire shortly after 9 p.m., staying until midnight to put it out, according to Allan Dover, Lauderdale County fire coordinator.

Dover said the single-story home was a total loss, citing the age of the home. Homes that are built with pine become more flammable over time due to their natural resin.

“Usually with homes of that age there’s maybe a corner still standing (after a fire),” Dover said. “The house was still standing and it could be fixed, but it probably needs to be torn down.”

Dover said the cause of the fire, which started on the front porch, was under investigation.

Watkins secured a temporary apartment and Watkins’ “church family” is accepting donations, both monetary and clothing, for the family, according to Shirley.

Shirley said the family especially needed clothing, though the school has already provided the children with uniforms.

Those interested in donating to the family can do so at www.firstassemblymeridian.com and should put “Adrienne” in the memo.

Downard writes for the Meridian, Mississippi Star.