OSAWATOMIE, Kan. — From a beautiful home to something unrecognizable, the McCarthy family is dealing with the damage done to their house that caught fire on Saturday.
"We were about an hour away, cleaning out a storage unit," James McCarthy, patriarch of the family of eight, said.
During that time, the family received dozens of calls from friends with the horrific news.
"She said, 'Your house is on fire,'" James' wife Laurie McCarthy said.
Firefighters believe an electrical fire which destroyed several belongings including clothes, shoes and furniture.
"Our closet is right there. It was completely destroyed," James said. "It's the big hole. This is from Walmart."
There is one thing that keeps them going.
"The community, the love, our friends and family," James said.
On Tuesday, a restoration company helped them save any item they could.
While they lost part of their home and their belongings, they also lost something close to their hearts: their puppies.
"We had eight, and seven of them didn't make it," Laurie said.
Fortunately, 8-week-old Cinder was able to survive, but is still fighting for his life after suffering burns.
The McCarthy's said they have no idea how Cinder was able to make it our safely since the the puppies were in a cage when the fire broke out.
The family said they will rebuild and start over again and has established a GoFundMe for costs.
"There are no words," James said. "It's overflowing. It's amazing and you don't realize that until you get into a situation like this."
