A Christmas Day fire ravaged the mobile home of Robert and Darla Voigt in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday. However, the couple and their Bible were miraculously spared from the fire.
"I always thought this will never happen to me. That's a lie," Robert Voigt told News 4 San Antonio after the fire was put out, leaving him and his wife to go through the rubble to find their belongings. He said the fire took most of their belongings, including his diabetes and heart medications.
But he found their Bible undamaged from the fire, which tore down his mobile home.
"Not one page is burnt in the Bible. Not one page. God was with us last night," Robert remarked, calling it one of several Christmas miracles to happen to his family, CBN News reported. He said that the other Christmas miracle was that his son, also named Robert, alerted them of the fire. His early warning enabled the father to rescue his 17 year old daughter, Sarah.
"My wife tried coming through here, couldn't get through because of all the smoke," Voigt explained. "So, she came back around and I went around to the front of the house and went into my daughter's room and dragged her out."
Voigt remarked, "It's what a father does. Takes care of his children."
Three of the family's four dogs initially went missing, but firefighters soon found one. Darla Voigt recounted how her "heart sank" upon finding out that her dog was safe, a feeling she said was "overwhelming." Now, the family is faced with an uncertain future, but they know they would face it together.
"We came with nothing. We worked and worked and worked and now we have nothing again," Robert mused, adding that it would be difficult for them to rebuild because they do not have renter's insurance. For now, they are being provided shelter by the Red Cross.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help the Voigt family get back on their feet. The fundraiser has since raised $8,817 out of its $30,000 goal as of writing. Those who desire to help the Voigts in this trying time can donate via the fundraiser.
CHRISTMAS FIRE: A family has lost nearly everything this Christmas. Thankfully they are all alright but are missing two dogs and lost virtually everything.
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Take a look at their Bible, virtually untouched by the flames.
+https://t.co/WuacFpz10Xhttps://t.co/qIbJuyww2Q pic.twitter.com/xkdho9Orus"” Amanda Henderson (@AmandaHTV) December 25, 2021
Other Christmas house fires
Similarly in Michigan, an early Christmas morning fire broke out in the Chippewa County home of a woman, Up North Live ABC 74 reported. The woman woke up to the smell of the smoke and was able to escape with minor injuries, causing officials to call it a Christmas miracle. The mobile home was described by Soo Township Fire Chief Jeff Killips as "a total loss" but said that it was good that nobody else was severely hurt. The 82 year old owner of the mobile home was treated for smoke inhalation at a nearby hospital and was released later in the day.
In Las Cruces, New Mexico, a family was left without a home after a fire burned down their house on Christmas morning. Amanda Lopez-Granado and her husband, three sons, and two month old baby girl were left with nothing when the flames engulfed their home, KFOX-TV reported.
The family left their house on Christmas Eve to visit their parents as part of the holiday tradition. When they returned well past midnight, later than they usually do, they were met with intense smoke from a fire that started inside the house. The family said that it was a Christmas miracle that they stayed with their parents longer than they usually do.
Lopez-Granado said, "If we would've come home at 11, I don't think we would've been here; I know the baby wouldn't have been here, I would've put her to sleep in our bedroom," where fire investigators said the entire floor had collapsed.
