SAN ANTONIO – Children playing with a lighter, that's what San Antonio Fire Department investigators said started a fire on the city's East Side.
It happened around 6 p.m. on Tuesday on H Street, between I-10 and Martin Luther King Drive.
Moses Prince said he was working at the 3-5-7 Food Pantry, delivering meals when his cousins drove up and told him his sister's house was on fire.
"I am totally devastated that it happened to my sister," Prince said. "But you know what? I'm also optimistic that God will fix it for them."
San Antonio Fire Battalion Chief Connie Hall said two adults and two children, ages 4 and 8, were home at the time, but they made it out.
"Nobody was hurt," Hall said. "They were able to get the grandmother out and the kids out of the house, but it is a total loss."
Hall said the two children were playing with a lighter in the bedroom, and that the flames spread quickly.
"The fire was in the attic. The roof was sagging and getting ready to collapse," Hall said. "We had to go in and put out the hot spots and then get out, because we do have a collapse issue."
"Whatever it may have been, I'm just thankful to God that everybody got out safe," Prince said.
Hall said the family lost everything. They estimated $30,000 worth of damage to their belongings on the inside and a $100,000 worth of damage to the house itself. Hall also said the neighboring house had some heat damage, about $2,000 worth of damage on the side.