A young Colorado family saw their family home and almost all their possessions go up in flames after a neighbor sparked a house fire by grilling in his yard.
Chris and Hannah James, from the suburb of Castle Rock, say they will have to replace almost everything they own after their $600,000 family home was destroyed on April 22.
Footage showed the house engulfed in flames, which the fire department told Fox31 was caused by a neighbor grilling in dry conditions.
The neighbor accidentally set grease on fire on nearby mulch, which was then carried into the James' home by high winds, firefighters said.
Chris said he was working home alone when the fire started, and recalled sprinting from his home with their dog and abandoning his family's cherished possessions inside - including the family's cat.
'It’s very daunting to think I have to like start over. I had a roof over their heads and now we’ve got to find another one,' he said.
The couple and their three children are now staying with relatives while searching for a new home, but soon realized their issues ran deeper as they were unaware they were uninsured.
The family's insurance had recently lapsed before the fire due to an oversight after a change of payment method, leaving them destitute and searching for a solution.
A young Colorado family saw their family home and almost all their possessions go up in flames after a neighbor sparked a house fire by grilling in his yard
Footage showed the family home in Castle Rock, Colorado engulfed in flames when the property was destroyed on April 22
Chris recalled being on a work call when the fire began, and said he didn't realize at first that his home was engulfed in flames.
He said a neighbor ran over and banged on his door, and screamed at him: 'Your house is on fire, get out!'
He said he ran outside without shoes on and only had time to grab his dog, leaving his family's cat inside.
Firefighters saved the cat from the house fire, but the feline sadly later died.
'She was going to make me her person, she would hang out on my desk during work calls,' Chris said of the cat.
Chris said the reality of the loss is also only starting to dawn on his young kids.
'You go to give the twins a bath and you’re like ‘I don’t have soap, I don’t have towels,'' he said.
The fire department determined the cause of the fire to be a neighbor grilling in dry conditions, accidentally setting grease on fire which was then carried into the James' home by high winds
The couple and their three children are now staying with relatives while searching for a new home, but soon realized their issues ran deeper than only losing their home as they were unaware they were uninsured
The couple told Fox31 that they have been left devastated by the loss of their possessions, including a number of cherished items, including Hannah's wedding dress and sports memorabilia.
Without insurance to cover their losses, the couple said they are relying on the generosity of friends and family to get them through the tough times.
'I thank a lot of the amazing people that have just brought toys to my parents’ house and clothes and you know we’ve been able to make things as normal as possible,' Hannah said.
'We have our family and that’s the most important.'
A GoFundMe to help the family has raised over $32,000 at the time of writing, noting that without insurance, the 'road ahead will be overwhelming, and the costs of rebuilding a sense of normalcy for their children will add up quickly.'