Massive Fire Destroys Young Couple's Monroe Home

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a Monroe home Wednesday night.

The young couple living in the home on Bentwood Lane moved into the house in February on a rent-to-own deal. They were set to close on the house in about a month.

Andrew and Carmin Currie said they had just returned home Wednesday night when Andrew saw two men running from the back of the house carrying a large white bag.

SLIDESHOW: Fire Destroys Young Couple's Home

CHOPPER VIDEO: Fire Investigators Sift Through Rubble

Minutes later, the couple said they smelled gasoline when they walked inside the house. They then went back outside and saw the flames.

Firefighters arrived just before 10 p.m. and found the home almost completely engulfed in flames, Fire Chief Ron Fowler said. Channel 9's newspaper partner The Enquirer-Journal has pictures that show the size of the flames.

No one was hurt in the fire, but the home, which police estimated to be worth about $600,000, was gutted.

Carmin Currie is nine months pregnant and said she is due any day. All the gifts she received at her baby shower, held on Sunday, were destroyed in the fire.

The couple also has a 2-year-old child.

Fire investigators said it could take days to determine the fire's cause. Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation came to the scene of the fire Thursday to help.

The white bag Andrew Currie said he saw the men carrying was found in nearby woods, but police haven't said what, if anything, was inside it.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the Monroe Police Department at 704-282-4700.