SAN ANTONIO — At about 3am Thursday, Michael Garcia and his family woke up to the fight of their lives.
Garcia said when his teenaged son told him their house was on fire, he thought maybe he’d find smoke in the oven or something small.
What he found was something that he said that nearly killed all six family members in their modest C Street home on the west side near Highway 90 and Zarzamora.
Garcia said while his son bashed out a bedroom window to escape and then save his mom and two little sisters, he ran around the flames to save his oldest daughter from another bedroom.
Garcia said as soon as he dragged her from the room, there was a flashover and the entire house erupted into flames.
Family lucky to be alive after home fire on the west side
Garcia said he was astounded at how fast the fire moved and how close they all came to death.
When firefighters arrived they found fire everywhere, eating through the attic and roaring out of windows and doors.
Within moments, they adopted a defensive operation and ordered firefighters to fight the fire from outside the structure.
They used a power saw to cut through burglar bars to gain greater access to the flames.
Garcia said firefighters told the family they did a great job escaping from the inferno, with only the older daughter needing to go to the hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation. Garcia said they expect she will be under observation for a time, but she should be okay.
Garcia said the family’s dog survived, but her twelve newborn puppies did not.
The home did have a smoke detector.
San Antonio Fire Captain Samuel Elizondo said "They did have one and they were alerted with a smoke detector."
Smoke detectors are part of a four point fire department plan to save lives. After the fire was extinguished, Elizondo said they made sure neighbors were safer as well.
Elizondo said “We were canvasing the neighborhood and talking to homeowners and trying to install some smoke detectors. It’s one of the many services that we do provide.”
Elizondo said an arson investigator would look over the fire scene, but his initial impression that there was some kind of electrical issue in one of the bedrooms.
Sifting through charred rubble, Garcia alternated between tears and smiles. He said he is grateful that his family survived, that firefighters did a great job, that he has insurance and that people have been kind to him in the aftermath of losing mostly everything.
The fire department has web resources devoted to their home safety SCAN program. There are tips for all ages at www.FireSafeSA.com