WHITEFORD, Md. — For nearly half a century, Ronald and Lawrence Scarborough have been inseparable, sharing a home on a little over three acres of land tucked along Slate Ridge Road in Whiteford.
On Monday afternoon, that nearly came to an end.
“When I first saw the fire, I had been outside and then I went in the house and I closed the door,” Ronald told us, ”and then I seen flames and I came on through the house and woke him up.”
Man helps sibling escape house fire
At 77 years old, Lawrence is six years Ronald’s senior.
He had dozed off watching TV when his brother burst into the room.
“He yelled on me,” Lawrence recounted.
“Was it close? Did you smell the smoke? Did you see the flames?” I asked him.
“No,” he replied, “I didn’t even smell nothing.”
“So if not for your brother, you may not have made it?”
“I may have not.”
Investigators believe the fire started in a gazebo located on the side of the house and flames spread to the two-story home.
They have not ruled out discarded smoking materials.
The estimated loss to the structure here has been placed at $200,000 with another $50,000 loss in contents.
While a lifetime of possessions are lost, including their family photos, Ronald and Lawrence still count themselves lucky.
“But there’s no one more dear to you in this world than your brother?”
Ronald grew emotional while contemplating the question in a response, which defied words.
