Victims of House Fire Homeless on Friday

Robert Mattia, 52, of Cabin John, lost his childhood home in the Seven Locks Road house fire that left him, his wife, his daughter and a tenant without a place to live.

The fire has been classified as accidental, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.

After beginning to clean a basement storeroom that afternoon, Mattia said that he tripped over a broom and fell into an electrical panel, while holding a metal shelf. The shelf struck the panel, destroying two breakers.

"It exploded," Mattia said. "The boxes by the shelf and the wall went up instantaneously."

Mattia said the explosion knocked him out for a few seconds and by the time he regained his senses, the fire had surrounded him. Crawling through the fire, Mattia made it to the only set of stairs leading to the main level and was able to exit the house.

"'Get out;' survival; that's all I could think of," Mattia said.

Six days later, survival is still the first thing on Mattia's mind. A former county government worker, now on disability, Mattia said his property was undergoing foreclosure before the fire. Now, any insurance money will go to the bank. Mattia and his family were given temporary shelter by their insurance company, which has put them up in a hotel for 10 days and is assisting with food and clothing. But by Friday they must leave the temporary accommodations, and the family doesn’t have anywhere to go, Mattia said.

"I have no idea where I'm going to be going, where I'm going to be living, if it’s in a house at all," Mattia said. "There is no where to go."