In front of a large heap of blackened rubble, the front steps that still stand lead to nothing but the charred remnants of Kaloni Parton’s home.

A microwave and toaster top a pile of ash in what used to be Parton’s kitchen. Small metal race cars and a scorched bed frame make up her grandson’s old room.

And although it has been several days since the fire occurred, the distinct smell of smoke still lingers in the air.

Looking at the disheartening  sight, the place that was her home merely days ago, Parton shrugs, shakes her head and sighs.

“There’s not much I can do,” she said. “You just got to keep going and move past it.”

While helping her husband assemble her grandson’s new bed Sunday night in her doublewide mobile home at 747 Timber Landing Road, in southern Glynn County off U.S. 82, Parton heard a loud crash outside. She presumed the noise  to be one of her dogs.

When her grandson came running into the room, though, she realized something was wrong.

“He came back in the room and yelled that the house was on fire,” said Parton. “The whole front of the house was on fire in no time. We called the fire department out here to get it under control.”

But it seems there wasn’t much the firefighters could do.

With no fire hydrants nearby, the team had to shuttle in water.

Glynn County Fire Chief Al Thomas said the fire department did what it always does when responding to fires in areas not served by hydrants. It called in water tankers.

“In rural areas like this, there aren’t fire hydrants and we have to bring water in,” Thomas said.

It’s not the most efficient way to fight a house fire, Thomas acknowledges.

“It takes longer to put a fire out without a hydrant,” he said.

Had there been water more readily available, the degree of damage might have been less, Thomas said.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze, the cause of which is still unclear.

When Parton left the scene about 1 a.m., the fire was still burning with gusto. Crews worked until the early hours of the morning trying to keep the blaze from spreading to the small farm of chickens, peacocks, emus and roosters on Parton’s property.

Though Parton had insurance on her home, it doesn’t cover the loss of memories, she said.

Despite it all, she is determined to cling to an optimistic outlook. After living on the property for some 25 years, she is resolute on rebuilding her home.

And, she reasons, the material items claimed by the fire “were just stuff.”

“The only thing I am just torn up about losing was Pepper, my little dog,” Parton said. “We looked for hours when the fire started, but we couldn’t find him anywhere.

“We think he was lost in the fire. He was just a little mutt, but he was such a good dog. It’s heartbreaking.”