Family Barely Escapes Home in Flames, Mom Says Teen Son's Gaming Habit Saved Them
There are plenty of stories about residents fleeing to safety just in enough time before a fire engulfs their home. In most cases, these people have survived a house fire thanks to some sort of timely alert.
Sometimes it involves a heroic dog waking up their owners during the incident. Other times, it may involve a good Samaritan who runs inside a burning home to notify sleeping residents.
In a more recent house fire that took place in Thornton, Colorado, it was a teen’s gaming habit that saved his family.
The Schultz family has lived with their two dogs and two rabbits in a home they’ve rented for six years.
But one late Friday night, they never suspected losing that very same home. Son, 14-year-old Dezmin, had stayed up past midnight playing a game on his phone.
Suddenly, a strange noise caught his attention. Peering outside to see what it was, Dezmin saw a fire-like glare.
So, he decided to investigate a little further.
He said, “I went outside and looked and saw part of the house was on fire.”
In a hurry, Dezmin went back inside to wake up the rest of the house. His mom, Jennifer, was in a deep sleep at the time her son startled her with the news.
Leaving their shoes and coats behind, she said they barely escaped the flames.
“We were out of the house within a minute and the whole house on the back side was engulfed,” Jennifer said.
The aftermath of the fire caused water and smoke damages to most of their personal possessions, and unfortunately, their home was uninsured.
However, a GoFundMe page has been created to help support the family.
In the meantime, they have moved to a hotel until things are sorted out.
Although they’ve been struck with unfortunate circumstances, Jennifer now sees the good in her son’s late-night obsession.
“If he wouldn’t have woken us up it would have been a lot different story,” Jennifer said. “Now I’m like you can stay up and text as long as you want.”
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