A Hampton family lost everything in a fire. Now they’re trying to rebuild.

HAMPTON — When husband and wife Kamaren and Sheena Broughton decided to leave their house on the evening of March 1 to go out to Peninsula Town Center, they had no idea that their home would no longer exist when they returned.

The couple had left their two teenage children and 2-year-old at their Hampton home. Kamaren went out with a friend to Bar Louie. Sheena went to a coworker’s going-away party at Canvas Social Cuisine. During the party, Sheena picked up a call from her teenage daughter with devastating news — the house was on fire.

“I was just like, ‘Is this a joke? This can’t be for real.’ I just left the house,” Sheena recalled.

Sheena immediately left the restaurant, called her husband and drove to the house. When she arrived, tons of fire trucks surrounded her home.

“I saw my son on a stretcher, I saw my daughter walking off with the EMS, and my baby — I’m just looking for where my baby was. My neighbor had taken my baby; she had her wrapped up.”

The fire ended up displacing the entire Broughton family. While the structure of the building remains intact, the blaze destroyed the inside. The Broughtons recently gave the Daily Press a tour of what remained of the house, which was mostly covered in ash and soot and still smelled like smoke.

Kamaren said much of the inside will need to be “gutted out completely.”

Kamaren and Sheena Broughton collectively have seven children to care for — including several who were not home at the time of the fire — ranging from a 2-year-old girl to their 15-year-old daughter.

According to Hampton Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Anthony Chittum, firefighters responded to a kitchen fire at the home shortly before 6:40 p.m. March 1. He said when units arrived, smoke was showing from two sides of the house. He confirmed two people were transported with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Sheena said the two people injured were her teenage daughter, who suffered first- and second-degree burns on her hand, and her son who had a smoke inhalation. She said one of the children had accidentally started a grease fire when trying to cook fries. A neighbor called the fire division while their daughter attempted to reach them over the phone.

While the family has lost everything, the local community soon stepped in to try to provide aid.

Kamaren said a neighbor who specializes in providing temporary housing offered to let the family stay in a nearby house until their home could be stripped down, remodeled, and rebuilt. Sheena said repairs could take 6-10 months.

The Broughtons said friends, neighbors and their employers have checked in with them — with some providing care packages.

While insurance will cover cost of repairs to the house, the family is still struggling with smaller day-to-day items like clothing and food. A longtime friend of Kamaren’s, Anthony Gitalado, launched a GoFundMe to provide the Broughton’s aid, alleviate stress and help them rebuild their lives, saying the devastation they experienced “is immeasurable.”

Gitalado noted that Kamaren “works tirelessly at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard” and that Sheena provides care and support at the Hampton VA Medical Center with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He said he gave the family some money, but that he “could only do so much,” so he launched the online fundraising effort to provide additional support for the family.

“When tragedy happens in our community, I think it’s best for us to come together and unite,” Gitalado said. “It’s better for us to do it together than individually. Sometimes people don’t always ask for help.”

As for the children’s recovery, Sheena said her daughter’s hand is healing and that “the worst is over.” She said she and her husband always try to give her encouraging words and let her know she tried her best to put out the fire. She said her son felt guilty, wondering what he could have done differently. She and her husband have tried to reassure him that “accidents happen” and that the important thing is to learn from them.

Ultimately, the Broughton family said they are grateful for the community showing them kindness the past few weeks.

“I would just like to thank everybody for helping and supporting us and checking in and sending well wishes and everything,” Kamaren said. “For the continued outpouring that they do, that has been given to us.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com