Colorado family devastated after house fire that forced some members to jump out second-story window

A Colorado home that was once filled with memories has turned into ruins following a devasting house fire. It happened on Monday in Thursday in Thornton.

"I'm 64 years old, and that 64 years of my life in there," said Josie Dalton.

Josie Dalton, her two children and three grandchildren were still sleeping just before 9 a.m. when she says someone quickly came over and banged on their door, alerting them that a fire that broke out in their backyard.

"I was so disoriented that when I tried to walk out my room, it was so dark," she said. "There's black smoke. I woofed [it] in. I took a deep ... breath in, and then by that time, it got me so disoriented that I started walking to try to push out the window. My granddaughter was sleeping with me, a 15-year-old, and I couldn't push it. I couldn't breathe."

As the rest of the children started to get out of the house, Dalton and her granddaughter scrambled to jump out of the second-story window.

"She actually got it out and opened, and she's like, 'Grandma. Jump,' and, then I finally climbed over and jumped without anything. We had nothing."

Two of her grandkids were taken to the hospital after the fire.

"The 14-year-old had to go to the hospital. She just got out yesterday. She got carbon monoxide, and she had throat burns and finger burns," said Dalton. "The 15-year-old had to go to the hospital, but she was released the same day. However, her anxiety levels were through the roof. She couldn't calm down."

It was a terrifying moment, but even more terrifying knowing they may not have survived if it were not for the good Samaritan who knocked on their door.

"If had it been much longer, we'd all be gone. Every one of us. If somebody didn't come to that door banging on it like they did, my daughter would have been trapped in the basement," said Dalton.

While fire crews continue to investigate the cause of the fire, the community, is rallying around her family and crowdfunding to help them start over.

"We're living place to place, trying to find hotels and extended stays and what have you," she said.

Even without the memories inside their home, she feels gracious for those who've supported them and the one stranger who stood up to keep her family safe.

"You got to love what you have today, because it could be gone like that, and you got to appreciate it," said Dalton.