About two weeks ago, someone threatened to burn her mother’s house down, Woods said. The family filed a complaint with the police department.

Firefighters on the scene were unable to tell Woods how the fire started, so she has to call the fire marshal’s office Monday to find out if it was indeed arson.

“It looked like it started in the back, but I didn’t go in and can’t be more specific about it,” said acting Assistant Fire Chief Roger Carter.

Woods called firefighters back out about 10 a.m. after finding a flat roof in the back that had rekindled.

Details from the firefighters that responded to the early call were unavailable since they went off duty soon after the fire, Carter said.

Meanwhile, Gardenhire and her granddaughter feels helpless in Tennessee, Woods said.

Gardenhire doesn’t know what comes next. Her mortgage company carries the insurance, and they are out of the office for the holiday, Woods said. She’ll be waiting by the phone for them to call Monday.

“We want to come home, but I’ve only got a hundred dollars in my pocket,” Gardenhire, distraught and sobbing, said over the phone.

Woods and her sister convinced their mother to stay in Tennessee, since there is not much she can do here at this time.

“It was a good thing they both (house and apartment) didn’t burn down,” Woods said. “At least they have the little house to come back to and stay in for a while.”