A Tuesday morning fire at 137 Northwood Drive in Elkin destroyed the home where Dawn Martin and her family were living.

Elkin Fire Chief Tommy Wheeler, said the call came in to the Elkin Fire Department at 8:48 a.m. and the fire was under control by 9:17 a.m.

The State Road VFD and Surry EMS were also dispatched to assist with the fire.

There were no injuries because no one was home at the time.

The house is owned by Christine Bumgarner of Elkin.

According to Wheeler, the cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but is believed to have started in the back of the house.

"We're working with the police department," said Wheeler.

A man who identified himself as Martin's father called The Tribune Tuesday afternoon, saying that he believed arson was the cause of the fire and alleging that some Christmas gifts and other items had been stolen from the home prior to the fire.

Capt. Jeff Poteate of the Elkin Police Department said that he could not make a comment other than to say that the fire is being criminally investigated.

Surry County Red Cross Emergency Services director, Tom Dunn, was also contacted this morning and said three responders were on the scene within 30 minutes of the call to assess the damage to the home.

Surry County Red Cross was able to assist the family based on the extent of the damage and property loss and will follow up with the family in a few days "to see if the families are OK," said Dunn.

They will then make referrals to other services like the Salvation Army or Social Services if necessary.

Wheeler said the home was a total loss, that the approximate pre-incident value of the home was $60,000 and that the house sustained $50,000 in damage to the structure and an additional $15,000 in property damage.

Dunn noted there have been nine fires in the last 15 days across Surry County, "the most concentrated amount of fires that I've seen since I've been here," and that the

Surry Red Cross chapter is in need of donations to assist families in crisis.

There are three children in The Martin family that have lost everything; a girl, age 17, and two boys, ages 11 years and 18 months.

If you would like to help the Martin family, donations will be accepted for them at Mazzini's Restaurant on Bridge Street in Elkin.