BELTON, Mo. — A Belton family needs the community’s help after a fire destroyed their home.
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No one was hurt, but the fire destroyed everything inside the Hernandez family house.
Their two dogs, Kaiari and Toby, have been missing since the fire. The dogs might have saved the life of the only woman who was inside the home at the time.
“The dogs usually lay under the bed, but they were barking and clawing at her mom's door that night, trying to get her attention,” Jess Valdez said.
Jess’s mother-in-law, Olga Varela, is one of three people who currently live in the home.
Varela’s mother was inside when the dogs alerted her.
"Once she (Olga’s mother) saw the fire, she knew there was going to be no way to put it out, so she just actually started walking out the front door somehow without her walker, without any assistance,” Jess Valdez said.
The home that provided almost thirty years of memories is now unrecognizable.
Jess translated for her mother-in-law, Olga, who told KSHB 41 News through her tears how much the house means to her.
“She said it's her children's entire life. Her grandchildren and just the childhood of all her kids growing up. All the memories, all the struggles she faced,” Jess translated for Olga. “She said it’s very difficult to see all of her material things that got destroyed because it was her 25 years of work that she had. But she’s so blessed and thankful that her mom, which is the most important thing, got out and that the dogs got out.”
The home might be gone, but the memories still stand.
The Belton Fire Department said the fire was traced to an extension cord that was right next to the artificial Christmas tree inside the family's home. The family has a Go Fund Me set up if you’d like to donate.
