A 65-year-old Sequoyah County man’s home burned to the ground Monday morning and with it took memories of his whole life.

Charles Cox was not there when the fire broke out in his home, which is south of Sallisaw off Apple Gate Cove Road. Brent Fire Department was called out at 7:20 a.m., according to Brent Fire Chief Darrell Vix.

Vix said five Brent volunteer firefighters and two Gans volunteer firefighters battled the blaze for a little over two hours.

Vix said Gans firefighters brought a tanker because extra water was needed.

Cox said he has lived in the rock-framed home for the last 40 years. He said the fire destroyed family heirlooms, his mother and father’s marriage certificate and family photos.

“My mom and dad’s stuff is gone. This was a big house filled with memories,” Cox said “My mother gave me a 21-day chime clock, and that can never be replaced.”

Cox said he and his son recently remodeled the 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom rock home.

“The living room caught on fire about five years ago. The flooring and walls had to be replaced. That fire was under control before it got out of the living room area,” Shannon Cox Taylor, Charles Cox’s daughter, said.

Cox said he lost new appliances, chainsaws, guns, family photos, a lot of memorabilia, and a lot of new clothing.

JoAnne Sellers, assistant fire marshal, said, “It can be more difficult to determine an exact cause of origin with a home totally destroyed.”

The investigator discovered the fire ignited in the kitchen but was unable to determine the exact ignition source.”

Sellers said it was determined that there was nothing suspicious about the fire.

Cox’s son, Greg Cox, and his daughter-in-law, Gina, live next door to the home that the fire turned to rubble.

Greg Cox said he looked outside and saw what he thought was fog.

“I looked outside and didn’t think anything about it because it has been foggy in the mornings. Then five minutes later I noticed flames,” Greg Cox said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Gina Cox said that on Tuesday what was left of the house was still smoldering. She said her father-in-law has been staying with them for now until he decides what he wants to do.

Gina Cox said, “Its sad. He’s lived in that house for as long as I can remember.”

Sellers said the estimated damage to the home was $172,000.