SAN ANTONIO — A west-side home was destroyed by a fire that may have been caused by a space heater. The homeowner said she was using the heater in her shed to keep her four dogs warm.
San Antonio Firefighters responded to the home off the 500 block of Westbend Drive around 11 a.m. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out safely.
“A lot of stuff burnt, we lost a lot,” Melissa Camacho said.
Camacho was covered in ashes as she recovered the few pieces of salvageable furniture.
“It’s so heartbreaking because everything we had was paid off,” Camacho said.
She said her family was unaware of the fire until a driver started honking. Camacho said her husband ran outside and saw the shed with flames shooting through its roof. Those flames quickly spread to the back of the home and to her vehicles.
“We lost 2 vehicles,” She said. “All our house burnt from the back all the way up to the restroom.”
She was able to get her four children out and started searching for her dogs who were able to escape. They have all been found safe.
While firefighters said it was too soon to determine the cause of the fire, Camacho is warning people who use space heaters to be cautious.
“What if it wouldn’t have been in the day and it would’ve been at night, you know we would of all probably burned inside with all my kids so it’s really heartbreaking,” Camacho said.
Camacho is now left wondering how they are going to pay for what firefighters estimated was $100,000 in damage.
“I wanted to see if we could create a GoFundMe for us to be able to replace a little bit of stuff, even if it’s not a lot,” Camacho said.
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