Family loses home to fire on Thanksgiving, fire department surprises them!

A family of four lost their home in South Los Angeles this Thanksgiving. Fire investigators saying they believe someone may have set the home on fire to perhaps cover up a crime.

The 911 call came in around 4;04 Thursday morning. After finding no-one inside the building crews worked to stop the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Erika Ochoa lives next door to the home. The flames were so intense, she says her kitchen windows burst. She hurried to get her family of eight outside.

"The firefighters said, a few minutes and our house would have burned too," Ochoa said.

Hours later the family returned to find their home completely destroyed. Rafael Rodriguez says they can't believe this happened.

"I was at work at the time and my neighbor called me to notify me that my house was on fire, Thank God there was no one at home at the time," Rafael Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez says investigators believe his home was burglarized.

"Some electronics were missing, Christmas presents that we had for our girls," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez says his wife Maria Renteria and their two young girls Ester, 4, and Isabella, 3, were staying at a relatives house preparing part of what was going to be their Thanksgiving dinner.

"It's just too much to bear, ya know, too much to bear, it's overwhelming," Rodriguez said.

Unable to salvage the home, firefighters invited the family to share in Thanksgiving dinner with them and their families, even surprising the girls with new toys.

"We're so thankful to be alive," Rodriguez said.

If you'd like to help the family, a GoFundMe account has been set up.

Donate here: https://t.co/B1BCbFy0BN

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