Zion family picking up pieces after losing everything in Christmas Eve house fire
A family in Zion is putting their life back together after they lost everything in a Christmas Eve house fire.
Fire crews were called to the home in the 3100 block of Ezekiel Avenue just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, where they found a two-story home engulfed in flame.
It took the Zion Fire Department over an hour just to get the fire under control, and another two hours to put the flames out.
LeAndrea Hernandez said she had just finished cooking and gone upstairs when one of her four children noticed the smell of smoke. They discovered the sunroom at the front of the house was on fire.
"The flames engulfed the sunroom and we already at this point walking to the back of the house and stuff," she sad.
Eight people were home at the time of the fire, but everyone made it out safely.
Now their home is charred and boarded up, and the family is staying at the nearby Inn on Sheridan that is serving as a collection site and drop-off location for donations.
Friday morning, the family went to Walmart to load up on essentials, saying the generosity of others is getting them through the holidays.
"Within a few hours, our hotel room was filled with clothes, Christmas gifts, you know, whatever they can get, whatever they can send. Donations, money, gift cards," Hernandez said. "We're forever grateful and blessed to be here and just to know that our communities have our back."
Investigators believe the fire started on the front porch of the home and was accidental.
The Inn on Sheridan is still taking donations for the family.