Instead of coming home to dinner after their athletic practices on Mar. 28, seniors Panyin and Kakra Boye-Doe returned home from tennis and track to smoke, debris and a blazing fire.

The fire likely originated from a sauce pan left on the stove, and it spread from the kitchen to the Boye-Does’ living room, destroying valuable possessions and memorabilia.

“My mom . . . might have left it on, but she came home from grocery shopping and saw that it was still on, and she tried to stop it,” Panyin said.

Although the Boye-Does were not home at the time the fire began, their exchange student from Ghana, Arnold Coffie, was in the house, unaware of the disaster.

“Our exchange student was downstairs,” Kakra said. “I guess he didn’t know what was going on, so he stayed there until some firemen came in and knocked down the window.”

The Boye-Doe twins were similarly unaware of the fire until they were contacted by neighbors.

“My neighbor called me and they were like, ‘Do you need anything?’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about? I’m at a track meet,’” Kakra said. “And then they called me again and they were like, ‘Your house is on fire.’ But it didn’t hit me that my house was really on fire until I got there.”

From South Middle South, the twins’ younger brother, Ekow Boye-Doe, could see smoke coming from their neighborhood.

“I was just worried about who was in the house,” Ekow said. “ I didn’t care much about the house because you can always get a new house and new clothes, but you can’t get another life. So when I got to my house and saw my mom and the exchange student outside the house, I ran and gave them hugs.”

When Kakra and Panyin arrived at the scene, they were surprised to see their street blocked off by firetrucks and ambulances. The boys were even more shocked when they saw the effects of the fire.

“Most of the upstairs was affected, except for the bedrooms,” Panyin said. “Smoke got in there, but there was no damage. Our ceiling actually got damaged.”

Because of potential hazards, the Boye-Does made alternate living arrangements, staying with friends and in hotels, until they found a house to rent.

“For me, it’s affected my whole lifestyle,” Panyin said. “Like in the first few days, we didn’t have a permanent place to stay or like a routine. When people talk about going home, I’m like, ‘I’m going to my hotel room.’ I guess that’s the hardest part. So it’s just a really weird time.”

Although the twins had lived in their home for the majority of their lives, they are anything but eager to return to their house in its current state.

“It’s really weird. It’s really hard,” Kakra said. “I kind of try to avoid getting close because it’s weird seeing your house like that because we’ve lived there most of our lives. We’ve lived there since we were eight.”

The house is still being rebuilt, but the Boye-Does are optimistic as they finish their senior year.

“You don’t expect it to happen to you until it happens to you,” Kakra said. “It’s tough, but I think we’ll live through it. I guess we learned to not take things for granted.”