San Bernardino family says illegal fireworks caused their house of 40 years to burn down

A San Bernardino family says that their house of 40 years burnt to the ground over the Fourth of July due to illegal fireworks. 

Wild video from a neighboring property shows the intense moments that Tawnya Scott's son tried to battle the large flames with a garden hose. As the fire continues to rage and smoke fills the area, first responders finally show up to try to mitigate the incident. 

"It spread within 15 minutes. It was up to the house," Scott said. "This is 40 years lost for me, and my disabled mother is 74. This was the last that she had of her mother."

Scott said that the fire started at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, quickly spreading from the garage to their main home, where her son was inside with her disabled mother, sister, other family members and pets. 

"My son immediately got his girlfriend out. Got my mother, my sister, and my brother-in-law out, and all five dogs," Scott said. "Then he came back to fight the fire."

Unfortunately, his attempts were unsuccessful and the home was devastated. Scott said that her 6-year-old granddaughter would have been sleeping in her bed, where the home's roof collapsed, if her son hadn't gotten her out in time. 

She's both sad and angry because they believe an illegal firework is to blame for the tragedy. 

"Firework went up. It dispersed, it caught our yard, my neighbor's yard on fire," Scott said. "There are signs posted all throughout, 'Fireworks are illegal.' We have these laws for a reason."

Next door, Leo Davis said that his own garage was destroyed in the fire. It was where he kept all of his mechanic tools, which he depended on to make money

"That was my life," Davis said. "For a lot of people in the neighborhood, working on their vehicles. Now I can't do that no more."

Now, they're leaning on each other and giving thanks that they're all still alive. 

"The good lord gave my son his strength for a reason; he got us all out," Scott said. "They are all safe, and he'll get us through this."

As they now look to pick up the pieces, Scott and her family have started a GoFundMe in hopes of covering some of their losses. She says that her sister, who suffers from heart failure, lost valuable medical equipment and medication in the fire, and that her daughter has a baby on the way. They're also hoping that people can donate baby supplies, clothing or food after everything they had was lost in the blaze.

The fundraiser can be found by searching for the keywords: "Family Needs Help After House Fire."

Cal Fire has not yet returned CBS LA's request for comment on what caused the house fire.