SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A devastating house fire tore through a Spring Valley home Sunday killing two dogs.
According to the San Miguel Fire Department, the house suffered major damage. Crews say 40 to 50-mile-per-hour winds made accessing and fighting the fire a challenge.
“When I opened my front door I saw the flames from my house,” said neighbor Cesar Mendez. “Right away I screamed to my daughter to call 9-1-1 and I came running over here thinking the family was here."
Cesar Mendez has lived in this Spring Valley neighborhood for more than 40 years.
He says he tried to push his way in through the front of his neighbor’s house, but the smoke and flames were too much.
"It was raining, so I wet myself more and tried to go in with my neighbor across the street, but we couldn't get in,” Mendez said.
Not knowing if anyone was still inside, Mendez says he switched his approach to the back of the house where he found a member of the family asleep.
"I couldn't see anything in there,” Mendez said. “I was just sucking up smoke trying to get to them.”
While only one person who lives at the house was home at the time, the two dogs that were there didn't make it.
Family members tell ABC 10News their family pets were Max, who was six, and Daisy, who was one. One of the homeowners who didn’t want to speak on camera was in tears describing the loss. She told ABC 10News she took extra precautions on New Year’s Eve to protect the dogs from loud fireworks noise only to lose them to a fire.
Fire crews say the cause of the fire is undetermined.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to try and raise funds for the loss.
