Milwaukee family loses everything in a house fire weeks before Christmas

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) –A Milwaukee family loses everything in a house fire weeks before Christmas. They were getting ready to celebrate their baby’s first birthday.

The fire happened on December 12. Luckily, no one was injured but a family now has to start over after leaving with only the clothes on their backs.

“It just happened in a blink of an eye”, says Samantha Lopez. “I was just amazed”.

A heavy fire was reported in the second story of the home on North Richards Street and Keefe Avenue.

“My husband was on his game streaming and then everything just went off”, explains Lopez. “He opened the door and there’s nothing but smoke in his face.

In a matter of minutes the family had lost their home and all of their belongings.

“He grabbed the dog and he just got out”, says Lopez. “He wanted to go back upstairs to see if he could get some of her clothes, mine, or his. He couldn’t even do that, the house was filled with smoke”.

Not only did this happen just weeks before Christmas but it was also just days before little Mya’s first birthday.

“it was the furnace upstairs”, says Lopez. “The neighbor had a furnace room right next to our and the only thing that was blocking it was a piece of dry wall. So when it caught fire it just ran to our and it just [took out] everything”.

Relatives and friends have stepped in to help the family with a place to stay, raising almost $1,000 on a GoFundMe page, and making sure some of the gifts for Mya could be replaced.

“Thank you so much”, says Lopez. “I didn’t expect any help from anyone. It’s not anyone’s situation but ours and we just appreciate everything”.

The family tells me their neighbor who shared the building with them lost his two dogs that ended up trapped in the fire.

You can donate to the family’s account click here.