"She was the one that warned everyone": Dog's barking helps save 12 family members in St. Paul house fire
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A formerly-homeless family of 13, who finally found a new start, is again looking for a place to stay after a fire.
That devastating fire happened in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. Ten children, their mom and uncle were all able to safely get out of the home when it caught fire overnight Thursday morning.
Their dad, Deszion Wraggs was at work at the time. He says the family dog woke everyone up when the house started filling with smoke.
"She was the one that warned everybody," Wraggs said.
He says the kids' uncle jumped into action and got all 10 kids out safely.
"I thank him a whole lot, like man, so if it wasn't for him being here, I think you know, it could've been a little bit worse," he said.
The St. Paul Fire Department says the smoke and fire damage is so bad that the house, and everything inside, are a total loss.
"Everything brand new is gone. You know, that's materialistic things, you know. I couldn't get one of they lives back if anything would have happened, so I'm just grateful that everyone is safe," Wraggs said.
That resilience is something this big family has had for a long time. Wraggs says they were homeless for eight months, living out of hotels, and an organization finally helped them find this home to rent at a price they could afford.
They were only in it for a couple of weeks before the fire.
"I just try to let them know like this ain't the end of the road, you know like, we got this," Wraggs said. "Everything we got, you know, we stick together, you know. Can't nothing break us.
The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction between walls on the first floor, fire officials say.
The Red Cross is helping the family with immediate needs.