LEANDER, Texas — During our most recent winter storm, local emergency departments responded to several fires, with many started by people simply trying to stay warm.
KVUE caught up with one Leander family who lost everything after setting up their propane heater to warm up.
"The whole back room was on fire," Robert Harris said. "I went outside to try to get a hose and realized it was frozen at the time. And by that time, the fire had spread far enough to the door."
Harris ran back to get his family out of the house. He threw himself and his youngest daughter out of the window. His family of five made it out alive. They had minor scratches, and some had serious burns.
"My sister Reina crawled under our grandfather's desk that he used for work," said Saleena Harris, Robert's daughter. "That was made of plastic, and it started melting onto our back."'
The ones who didn't make it are the dogs and cats they had.
"All 24 of them were sadly lost to the fire," Saleena Harris said. "The fire was so hot they said … we're not even going to be able to find any bones of them."
Since the fire, the Harris family has been living in a hotel.
"It's not even paycheck to paycheck at this point; you're savings to savings," Robert Harris said.
Some people have also donated clothes and money to help them while they get their lives back on track. Right now, they have a GoFundMe page going that Robert Harris' friend set up.
On Saturday, the family was finally able to move into a new apartment.
"And that's kind of where we're at now," Robert Harris said. "We're just trying to move forward."
Right now, all he can do is give thanks he and his family made it out alive.
"They're happy," he added. "They're going out. They're still playing. They're still arguing. They're still being themselves. Yeah, we lost everything … but we also got a few things back."
The family will continue to heal both physically and emotionally. They've got a long road ahead, but they've made great strides since the fire happened.