SAN ANTONIO — Flames ravaged a home in Poteet, leaving a mother and son with nothing but the clothes on their back.
Sentimental items were destroyed, and the family's service dog also perished as a result of the fire.
Now, the community is returning the favor by helping a family known for supporting others.
December 7 around 3 a.m., Jason Contreras woke up to see flames shooting out the back of his house on Royal Oaks Drive.
"I heard a loud bang," he recalled. "I yelled for my mom. I helped her in her wheelchair and told her to get out of the house."
Since March 2020, Jason has taken care of his mother Debra. She tells us she shot out of bed when she heard the loud bang, and began choking on the smoke filling her room.
Firefighters arrived, but a problem connecting to a nearby fire hydrant slowed access to more water.
"I was trying to go back in, but the police officer wouldn't let me because I was trying to find Raven," said Debra.
Raven is Debra's 2-year-old service dog.
The family says the dog escaped her crate during the fire and ran into the street. Shortly after, the dog was found dead on the highway about a block away after being hit by a car.
"The only reason I'm doing this [interview] hun is I don't want anybody else out in this community to go through what I'm going now or worse," Debra told us.
Debra says she has home insurance on her home, which she refers to as her "mamaw cave", but what was lost is irreplaceable.
"It won't bring back my husband's pictures from Vietnam or his door gunner helmet or the flag they gave me when I buried him and his medals for saving people," Debra said with tears filling her eyes.
A GoFundMe page started by Jason's friends has raised more than $4,000 to help the Contreras Family rebuild.
"I call them my chosen family. They just pulled together and other people see the page, people we don't even know or that are acquaintances and they're just showering us with love," said Jason. "I'm normally at the other end of the spectrum on this. I'm usually the one helping. I work in a drug treatment rehab facility to do the same for people. Now I'm the one having to ask for help."
"Things are kind of down right now, but with the support and everything I feel so blessed," said Debra. "I'm just thankful that we're ok. I have those memories in my head and my heart forever."
The family was told the cause of the fire was electrical.
This is the second time the Contreras Family's home was lost in a fire.
We called the Poteet Volunteer Fire Department to inquire about the fire hydrant issue. A member of the department told us the hydrant wasn't compatible with the fire trucks. He says they ordered a part that will properly connect the hose to smaller hydrants, like the one near the Contreras home. Fire officials say they also put the word out to neighboring fire departments about the new tool.