Dallas Officers' Home Burns Down During Family Vacation
NAVARRO COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A heartbreaking end to a family vacation for two Dallas Police officers. They arrived home to find their house engulfed.
The Weisskopf family had lived there for 16 years.
Now they have only the clothes on the backs after driving home from a vacation to find their house on fire.
Tony and Michelle Weisskopf are both Dallas Police detectives.
Their two children are 15 and 12.
They were in Waco on Wednesday driving back from floating the Guadalupe River when their daughter received a call that smoke was coming from their home.
When they arrived, they found firefighters waging a losing battle.
Two days later, some parts of the rubble are still smoldering.
The family has been trying to salvage photos, art work and their commemorative police badges but it's not looking good.
They also lost two cats in the fire and at times, the family has been emotionally overwhelmed dealing with the loss.
"It's hardest with the kids because their lives just crumbled and that's harder than anything," said Michelle Weisskopf.
The couple says the experience has given them a different perspective from their jobs in public safety.
"The strangest part about this is all the years and patrol when you're working a house fire when somebody else's stuff is burning you tell him the same thing everyone said to us," said Tony Weisskopf. "'At least nobody was hurt. It's only stuff and you can rebuild and get new stuff.' But to actually experience it is humbling and you don't realize how terrible it is until you actually go through it yourself."
The family has insurance and is currently staying with neighbors, but they are starting over.
The couple moved to this rural area to raise cattle.
Anyone who would like to help the Weisskopf family, can donate through the Dallas Police Association's Assist the Officer Foundation.