A North Hill mother of eight and her family lost their home to fire Thursday morning.
Lawana Naylor was away following up on a job lead when the fire started about 8:50 a.m. at the house on West Mildred Avenue, off North Howard Street.
Naylor's fiance, George Belcher, was at work. Her 2-year-old grandson and eight children, ages 7 to 18, were at preschool and school.
''I don't know what to do,'' Naylor said, crying as she watched Akron firefighters study the fire scene. ''All I know is that God is good. My kids weren't (home).''
Naylor's neighbor, Carla Worley, saw the house in flames and called the fire department.
''I thought her oldest child was in there,'' said Worley, comforting Naylor as they stood beside the burned house. ''That's why I called and said, 'I think someone is in there.' ''
Worley offered to open her home to Naylor and her family. Firefighters also sought help from local American Red Cross workers.
Naylor said she and her family had lived in the rental home since September.
Fire Capt. Mike Patrino said the cause of the fire is under investigation. It also is not clear where the fire started, although the kitchen area had the worst damage, he said.
The 2 ½-story, white frame house was worth about $48,000 and appears to be nearly totaled, Patrino said.
When firefighters first arrived at the scene, they tried to enter the home through a side door, but couldn't because flames had engulfed that part of the house. They then burst through the front door and attacked the fire.
It took about 25 minutes to calm the blaze, which spread to the basement and the second floor.
''The initial call came in as 'people trapped in the house,' '' Patrino said. ''We wanted to get in quick and do a search.''
