A Somerset family spent yesterday afternoon sifting through ashes ? all that remains of their home following a devastating fire on Monday morning.

The family was lucky to escape unhurt from their two-storey apartment on Broome Street as a fire ? which the family and authorities believe was started intentionally ? ripped through the downstairs area at about 1.10 a.m.

Digging through the ashes in search of family photos, an emotional Bernette Woolridge, 40, said she had no idea why anyone would do this to her family.

A man was arrested by Police on Monday in connection with the fire.

?Only a week ago someone slashed the tyres of my motorcycle,? she said.

She added that because of recent problems she made sure every night that all the doors and windows to the apartment were locked. Sunday night was no different.

?I?ve been followed,? she said. ?I?ve been watched. Yes, I?m always scared.?

Still shaken from the ordeal, she explained she was in her upstairs bedroom talking to her 17-year-old daughter, Bern?, 17, and her friend Tikeira, 18, when Bern? said she saw a ?red flash? downstairs.

?If you look out of the bedroom door, you can see light from downstairs reflect on the staircase,? she said.

She said this ?flash? was followed by the sounds of a motorcycle speeding up the driveway and away from the apartment.

?Bern? was scared and said she thought there was someone in the house, so I started getting up to take a look,? she said.

Her 21-year-old son Odell, was asleep in his bedroom with the door closed at the time.

?Before I could do anything the downstairs smoke alarms went off,? she said.

?I just shouted for everyone to get out.?

Ms Woolridge, who works as a 911 dispatcher at the Bermuda Fire Service, had three smoke alarms installed in the house and said these probably saved their lives ? giving them enough warning to get downstairs and out of the house.

?They tell you to grab a bag and get out, but I can tell you now ? there isn?t enough time! You simply have to grab your children and run for your life,? she said.

Ms Woolridge said she got Odell out of bed and they all ran down the stairs, adding that Tikeira fell in the panic, but was not hurt.

?We fled through the front door at the bottom of the stairs and, by the time we got to the side of the house, the blinds in the downstairs living room were on fire,? she said.

?I went to get the garden hose, but there was no water,? she said, adding that by this time, smoke was billowing out of the house.

Ms Woolrdige said the Fire Service was contacted and all she could do was sit down and cry as she watched everything they owned go up in flames.

?They believe the fire was started outside,? she said, pointing to a downstairs window where the aluminium shutters had completely melted away.

The fire was so intense downstairs that parts of the ceiling and walls had collapsed and the computer, television, stereo system and sewing machine had melted.

Ms Woolridge said most of the family?s belongings were second-hand, given to them by friends and family when they moved into the apartment four years ago.

?I?m not too proud to ask for help, even for second-hand things. I don?t mind because we lost everything,? she said, adding that they are all currently staying with friends in Warwick.

Bern?, an avid soccer player, tried in vain yesterday to remove black soot from trophies on her dresser and dug through drawers in search of something to save.

She has just graduated from Berkeley Institute and showed her beautiful graduation gown ? which was no longer white.

Meanwhile, Lt. Dana Lovell from the Bermuda Fire Service said Ms Woolridge was ?very special? to everyone at the department and they had set aside some room at the station in the hopes that members of the public would help with donations of clothing and furniture.

Lt. Lovell can be contacted at 292-5555, extension 233.

Having worked as a 911 dispatcher, Ms Woolridge said she had taken calls from people who ended up losing everything in a fire.

?You never know what it?s like for them until you?ve walked in their shoes,? she said.