The Assistant Fire Marshall with Lytle Police says, they believe the fire was caused when a power line snapped from a pole, catching the porch on fire.
SAN ANTONIO — The Lieck family said their nightmare all started when they heard a loud boom, followed by 85 year-old Maria Lieck screaming for her son Ernesto.
“So I jumped up, and I came out of the room and she was like, the house is on fire,” Ernesto Lieck said.
Ernesto said he and his mother ran towards the front of the home, and saw orange flames, but he opened the front door anyway.
“I saw like the power lines, I could see something flapping around and sparks going everywhere. I saw the flame, when it tried to come up into the house,” Ernesto said.
Once he shut the front door, Ernesto said a window busted and flames rushed in. Ernesto said his heart was pounding, and his adrenaline was pumping, and he was full of fear. He said he was asking himself, ‘What do we do? How are we going to get out?’
Ernesto along with his cousin Daniel, were able to escape out of his bedroom window, but a neighbor had to help them get his mother out. She was injured escaping the fire.
Luckily, his mother’s chihuahua, Mia popped up in a window and they were able to save her too.
Maria Lieck said once they got away from the house, she heard a buzzing noise, and they house became fully engulfed.
Then the reality of what was happening, sunk in for Ernesto.
“My heart was just sinking. It was like, you know, this is everything we have. This is all we have, and now it’s gone,” Ernesto said.
The Assistant Fire Marshall with Lytle Police said, the fire was caused by wind snapping a power line from a pole. The line then caused the porch to catch fire, and wind pushed the fire into the attic.
Neighbors, family, and the Lytle community are now rallying behind the family.
A GoFundMe, has been setup to help the Leick family with temporary housing, and necessities.
“It feels good knowing that everybody’s coming together. They’re going to help me and my mom, and helping out my cousin Daniel, because he lost everything,” Ernesto said.
If you would like to help the Lieck family as they recover, you can find the link by clicking here.