LEON VALLEY, Texas — A home in Leon Valley went up in flames last weekend, burning 25 years of memories.
Now, there are differing accounts of how quickly firefighters responded to the emergency.
The fire happened Sunday, Jan. 21, just before 1 a.m. off Sunview Street, near Evers Road.
Neighbors caught the flames shooting into the air and a plume of smoke visible from a mile away.
KENS 5 gathered testimony from the homeowners and the Leon Valley Fire Department about the timeline for the fire response.
The home is considered a total loss.
Bonnie, the 12-year-old Chihuahua, and her owners, Timothy and Yolanda Scranton, were the only ones home when the fire ignited.
Yolanda said Bonnie woke her up.
"She never barks," Yolanda explained. "She was barking and pushing at me with her nose."
The couple could see a glowing light outside their window. They knew they had to get out quickly.
"I looked to the kitchen and the back of the house was total flames," Timothy recalled.
Yolanda's AT&T phone log shows her calling 911 at 12:50 a.m.
Her neighbor's timestamp on their iPhone shows them calling 911 at 12:51 a.m.
"All the neighbors calling 911. At first, nobody was coming," Timothy said. "Leon Valley Fire Department didn't show up for quite some time. We want to know why."
Leon Valley Fire Chief, Michael Naughton, says crews got dispatched at 12:55:43 and arrived at the home on Sunview Street 4 minutes and 14 seconds later. He said by the time they arrived, the house was already destroyed.
Chief Naughton says his crews arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and he maintains that they couldn't have done anything stronger or faster in their response.
The Scrantons weren't able to salvage much.
"We have a few pictures that we've found," said Timothy. "We've been married 47 years...we'll start over. It won't be easy, but we will."
Leaders with the Greater San Antonio Chapter of the American Red Cross say we have the highest rate of home fires compared to other cities in Texas.
"It's very busy right now," said Dr. Daniel Martinez, the Executive Director of the Greater San Antonio Chapter. "We average eight per day...Just in January alone we've already responded to 80 fires within our chapter. So it's a critical need."
Those numbers may be exactly what state legislators need to expand funding for organizations that help fire victims. Often, victims need to replace items like medicines and important documents in a hurry.
"We need to be able to provide legislative relief to make sure that those things can happen quickly because these folks need their their lives restored as quickly as possible," said State Representative Ray Lopez of Texas House District 125. "We've got to give them more. We've got to be able to deliver services to folks like this that need it now."
The Red Cross is helping the Scrantons stay at a hotel while they work with their insurance. The couple was eventually able to get their much-needed medication and Timothy's hearing aids.
When called upon, the American Red Cross provides financial aid to fire victims immediately after tragedy strikes. Although there's eight fires a day in the area, the agency only responds to three on average.
Dr. Martinez said that's due in large part to the public not knowing the Red Cross is available to assist.
"We provide everything from spiritual counseling to, mental health, wellness counseling. And we journey with the family to try and help with whatever recovery looks like," said Martinez. "Anytime there's a disaster, whether it's a home fire, it's pipes bursting as a result of flooding, call 1-800-RED-CROSS."
We're still waiting to learn what sparked the fire at the Scranton's home.