Jessie Smith, who is known for her extensive collection of dolls, left shortly before noon, approximately an hour before two fire departments arrived at her home to find flames shooting out of one side of the house.
The three other occupants of the home were away at Summer Street at the time. Her dog also escaped unharmed.
“I thank God that he got me out of there,” Smith said about how she was feeling.
“I had a dream last night that the house went on fire and I couldn’t get the boys down from upstairs… God saved me for something.”
Smith was told her lift chair was being considered as a possible cause, though department officials said it was still under investigation.
The fire was knocked down quickly, in less than half an hour, and was contained mainly to one side of the building, though Trenton Fire Chief Wayne Allain said there is smoke damage throughout.
Smith doesn’t know the status of her collection, but she’s only worried about one doll.
“Two thousand dolls are just dolls. Four hundred and fifty teapots are teapots,” she said, adding that she hopes her one-of-a-kind Mother Teresa doll that her daughter-in-law had specially made for her wasn’t damaged.
On Twitter: @NGNewsAmanda
