A single mother and her four children are homeless and their three dogs are dead after a fire destroyed a Toronto Community Housing property in Scarborough.

Diana Gardiner had lived in the home for four years. (CBC)

On Thursday evening, Diana Gardiner returned from an evening eating at a Dave and Buster's restaurant with her children to find her Kessack Court home, and everything inside, was destroyed.

"I was called first," she said, crying. "My neighbour called me. It was still a lot more than what I expected."

Ten fire trucks responded to the fire, near the intersection of Neilson Road at Sheppard Avenue East, which was called in at 6:52 p.m.

Gardiner had lived in the east-end home for four and a half years.

She told CBC News she had two recent electrical fires — one last summer and one in January.

Toronto Community Housing replaced the outlet where the fire began last summer, she said.

"After the second fire, they came and replaced [all] the plug outlets."

Gardiner said she stayed at her friend's home Thursday night.