SAN ANTONIO — Ray Cantu said he was roused from a sound sleep around 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning by the choking smell of smoke. He said when he opened a door to investigate the smell, he found a wall of fire.
Cantu said he woke his wife and tried to help their son escape the flames.
Rosa Cantu said her adult son, who is disabled, was afraid in the dark and didn't want to move. She said when she tried to lead him to safety, she was confused by the thick smoke and ended up in the bathroom instead of outside.
Somehow the three made their way to safety, but their modest rental home on McCauley Boulevard was heavily damaged by what they said appears to be an electrical blaze.
The first arriving firefighters reported they had one house on fire and there was a second house nearby in danger of catching fire as well.
Moments later, radio traffic indicated a live power line damaged by the fire dropped and fell on top of Engine 21. Nobody was hurt and firefighting continued.
Surveying the damage after sunrise, Rosa and her daughter Sharon, talked about the scary escape.
"I woke up and I saw a lot of smoke that was very hot," said Rosa. She explained that without electricity and with so much smoke, it was hard to see and was very frightening.
Rosa said as the fire advanced, it ate into the attic and there was an explosion at the top of the roof.
The house has significant damage and portion of the roof caved in.
Sunlight streams through the charred living room. Sacred icons are scorched. Melted plastic drips from a torched truck in the drive, but the family said they're relieved to be alive.
The fire truck that took the electrical hit is OK as well. It returned to service as soon as power was cut to the downed line.
The property manager said they will be working with the family to find them another place to call home.
Meanwhile, the family said they would welcome help with donations to help replace what they lost.
The Cash App for Ray and Rosa Cantu is: $bigrossy1961