Glynn County firefighters work to control the fire in a house at 1034 Demere Road, St. Simons Island, Friday that was engulfed in flames when they arrived.   (C.H. Leavy IV/The Brunswick News)

Cradling his bloody hand and wiping away tears, Shamell Hudson watched Friday as firefighters walked in and out of his burning house.

All that remained of the St. Simons Island building was an empty frame, blackened from the inside out.

Whiffs of gray smoke floated into the air from areas of the roof that were still burning slowly.

“I don’t care about all the other stuff in there,” cried Hudson, gesturing toward the bleak scene. “I’m worried about my dogs … and obviously, they’re … I mean, they were in cages.”

The alarm for the fire in the one-story house at 1034 Demere Road went in at 4:29 p.m.

Deputy Chief J.J. Ellis responded to the call, along with three fire engines and a ladder truck, as well as a paramedic squad.

By the time they arrived at the house, about a mile from the fire station at Demere and Airport roads, it was too late.

“The house was fully engulfed when we got there,” said Ellis. “We tried an interior attack on the house, knocking down the door and making an entrance to battle the fire from inside.

But the flames were too thick, and everything was already lost, including the two dogs. Firefighters had no immediate estimate of the monetary loss and an Internet search of the Glynn County Geographic Information System did not show an owner or value of the building.

While there were no fire injuries to firefighters or residents reported, Hudson tried to hide his bloody fist.

Glynn County firefighters pour water on a burning house at 1034 Demere Road, St. Simons Island, Friday, after unsuccessfully trying to fight the fire from inside.  (C.H. Leavy IV/The Brunswick News)

“I punched the fence out of anger when I saw that everything was gone,” he said.

Late Friday afternoon, Ellis had no indication of what could have caused the fire, and said there would be an investigation. “We’ll have to wait until the fire is completely out before we can go in there and try to determine its cause.”

Hudson, however, has his own theories.

He believes it was an electrical fire, started by an air conditioning unit.

After he came home from work early Friday afternoon, he said he went around the corner to his aunt’s house to borrow her car.

When he left the house, his girlfriend was inside washing dishes.

“But not long after I left, she came running over screaming that the house was on fire,” said Hudson.

In the few minutes it took for him to run back to the property, the house was consumed by flames.

And his beloved pets weren’t the only loss.

“Everything I own is gone,” he said. “I’ve lost my computer … I’ve lost my whole life.”

Hudson doesn’t know what he will do at this point, other than salvage what little may remain.

“I said a prayer, and that’s all I can do,” he cried.