VIDALIA, La. — J.T. Morace escaped death Monday afternoon when his mobile home on U.S. 84 in Concordia Parish caught fire around him.

Morace’s day was going normally enough Monday until around 3:30 p.m.

&uot;I was taking a bath and the lights started flickering in the bathroom,&uot; Morace said. &uot;I got up to see what was going on.&uot;

By the time he was out of the bathtub, Morace said he saw smoke at the east end of the trailer.

&uot;It was burning down by the time I got out,&uot; he said.

The escape was so close that Morace singed the hair on the back of his head and a patch of skin on one arm. He got out with his life, but nothing else.

&uot;I feel OK,&uot; Morace said, holding a borrowed jacket wrapped strategically around his lower torso.

He said he and his wife, Sharon, would be staying with their adult children.

Ironically, this fire was the second time Morace has had a home burn. Ten years ago, Morace said he had a house burn completely, noting that starting over was nothing new to him.

Concordia Fire District No. 2 arrived at the burning mobile home between Ridgecrest and Vidalia at 3:32 p.m. and stayed until 5:43 p.m, pumping over 3,500 gallons of water onto the flames.

Fire Chief Nolen Cothren said the fire’s cause was likely accidental, but it was still under investigation.

&uot;The fire started on the east end of the trailer near the electrical box,&uot; said Nolen Cothren, chief of Concordia Fire District 2. &uot;Since it was a total loss, we let it burn on down so there wouldn’t be as much to clean up later.&uot;

Losing everything in such a fire is even harder for the Moraces since they didn’t have insurance.

&uot;They lost everything,&uot; Cothren said. &uot;He didn’t have any insurance. We’re trying to get clothes for them now.&uot;

Cothren said persons interested in donating clothing for the Moraces can drop them at the Central Fire Station on Airport Road.