A family of twelve in Oklahoma is starting over after a fire tore through their home, leaving behind what responders described as a total loss. All twelve members of the Crabtree family made it out of the house safely, but the blaze claimed the life of the family's small dog, a teacup Chihuahua named Tippy.
Firefighters were still working to determine the official cause of the blaze, but the Crabtree family believes the fire, which broke out on Wednesday, began with their water heater. The mother recalled that the morning had been entirely ordinary until a sudden noise from the garage signaled that something had gone badly wrong.
"I heard a loud boom in the garage and I was in there all morning and nothing seemed off," she said. "I went in there when I heard the boom and there was just fire all over the ground." She said the flames moved fast, spreading from the garage into the rest of the house before the family could do much of anything to stop them.
Her first thought, she said, was to get everyone out. The family's dog had become trapped inside the garage, and she was unable to reach the animal as the fire intensified. She described her children trying to push back inside to help while she insisted that the entire family leave the house together and not turn back.
The damage extended through much of the home. The mother said the kitchen and the living room were hit the worst, while the two back bedrooms were left heavily smoked out. By the time the fire was over, the property had been classified as a total loss, leaving the household with little of what they had owned.
The Crabtree household is a large one, with eight children, all under the age of eight. In the immediate aftermath, the family said it urgently needs clothing and shoes for the children, along with help covering hotel stays until they can figure out where to move and how to begin replacing everything they lost.
Among the possessions destroyed were irreplaceable keepsakes, including the children's baby books. Even so, the mother struck a resilient tone, saying she has taught her children to be brave, to avoid looking back and to keep moving forward. She added that life is short and can be lost in an instant, urging families to make the most of their time together. A meal train has been set up to help the family recover in the days ahead.