Debra Sumrall and her husband, Mike, were on a weekend get-a-way to the Mississippi Gulf Coast when they received a phone call at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning alerting them that their Jones County home was on fire.

“My brother-in-law called us and I just couldn’t believe it,” Debra Sumrall said Monday. “It was just like a dream.”

The couple and their two children — Brittney, 18, and Austin, 12 — lost everything in the fire that was reported at about midnight Sunday. Captain Brent Shennault of Fire Station No. 1 in Ellisville said the multiple story home at 551 Buffalo Hill Road was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.

Shennault said that in addition to the Ellisville Fire Department, others responding to the fire were Boggy, South Jones, Southwest Jones, Calhoun, Pleasant Ridge, and Hebron Volunteer Fire Departments.

“They first thought my daughter was in the house,” continued Sumrall. “Both of the children were at friend’s houses while we were away.

“I’m so grateful that we were all out of the house and are all safe. There are a lot of lost memories, but you can replace material things. You can’t replace a life.”

Debra Sumrall said her son is currently staying at his uncle’s home. The remainder of the family is at her mother-in-law’s home.

“We’re waiting for the insurance adjuster to come out and take a look at the property,” said Sumrall. “I saw the pictures of the fire in the newspaper and couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know how bad it was.”

The Sumralls had lived in the five-bedroom, three and a half bathroom, wood framed home for seven and a half years.

Although the fire was under control in about an hour, firefighters remained at the sight for about five hours to make sure the flames didn’t spark back up.

According to Jones County Fire Coordinator Dan McKenna, State Fire Marshals will be on hand today to investigate the cause of the blaze. However, Jones County Sheriff Alex Hodge said deputies who responded to the fire didn’t report anything suspicious.