Family Loses Home To Arson On Thanksgiving, STUNNED At Firemens’ Reaction

Early Thursday morning, a California man was working and received the last call he ever wanted – his house was burning to the ground and someone did it intentionally. He rushed back to find nothing left of his beloved home, but what left him stunned was how the firemen at the scene reacted.

FOX11 reports that Rafael Rodriquez was working early Thursday morning when he receive the call that his home was on fire. Apparently, someone had broken in and robbed his family of their belongings, then set fire to the house to try to cover up their crime.

Fortunately, nobody was home at the Rodriguez’s when the crime occurred, but the incident left the family completely devastated. The fire destroyed absolutely everything they owned, and the flames were so intense, they broke a window in a neighboring home.

“I was at work at the time and my neighbor called me to notify me that my house was on fire. Thank God there was no one at home at the time,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez explained his wife Maria Renteria and their two young girls – Ester, 4, and Isabella, 3 – were all staying with relatives to work on what was going to be a part of their Thanksgiving dinner. But obviously, their plans didn’t work out the way they wanted, and the now-homeless family had to figure something else out.

“It’s just too much to bear, ya know, too much to bear, it’s overwhelming,” Rodriguez said.

Firemen at the scene weren’t able to salvage the Rodriguez’s home, so they came up with a plan to help try to lift their spirits during an otherwise devastating time. Every year, they have a big dinner at the firehouse for all the firemen and their families, so they told the Rodriguez family to join them because they had nowhere else to go.

Not only did the firemen feed the family, but several members went out and bought toys for their little girls to replace what was either lost or stolen. When all was said and done, Rodriguez ended up having a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, even though he lost all of his belongings.

“There was a house lost, but all of that is materialistic stuff,” he said. “What matters is four lives that were untouched.”

If you would like to help the Rodriguez’s rebuild, a GoFundMe was set up for them to receive donations.

As I said, they have a lot to be thankful for, even though they lost so much. Material items are easily replaced, but you’ll never be able to replace the warm hug or a smile of someone you love.

Good job to the firemen for opening up their “home” and more to the Rodriguez’s during a tragic time. They could have easily left them to fend for themselves, but instead, they went out of their way to uplift a devastated family’s spirits. I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of firemen I would love to have in my community.