GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Fire officials say it’s a “Christmas miracle” a Grand Rapids family escaped unharmed from a house fire Wednesday night. Though they lost almost everything they own in the process, a tough reality to face just days before the holiday.
“The lieutenant said that we shouldn't have made it out. Fires like this, people normally don't survive,” Savannah Davison told FOX 17 Thursday.
“It was probably at most 60 seconds. From the sound, the popping noises to the power going out to the smoke and fire,” she explained.
A likely electrical fire that started in the under-renovation first floor apartment off Spencer Street, sparked a blaze in seconds. Forcing Savannah, her boyfriend, their four boys ages 5-12 and her cousin to escape immediately.
“Within 60 seconds of the guys trying to get downstairs, the entryway was fully engulfed in flames,” she added. “[Firefighters] said if we were sleeping we wouldn’t have gotten out.”
Because of the condition of the building, crews were ordered to evacuate Wednesday night and fight the fire from the outside. While they contained the fire to just the second floor, the Davison family lost everything they own, all their clothes and Christmas gifts included.
In the meantime, the Red Cross put them up in a hotel and they’re spending time at a relative’s home, but in a year filled with other family tragedies, including losing an aunt and a cousin, the Davisons are just thankful they didn't lose anyone else just days before Christmas.
“Now it's trying to figure out how we're going to get through the next day, let alone my children there are so stressed my nine-year-old has anxiety really bad and he's traumatized. He just keeps saying he wants to go home and like, it's just, it's hard. But we have each other. Yeah, we don't have a house to live in anymore. And we don't have clothes or anything. But I have my kids."
If you’d like to help the family during this difficult time, click here.
