(Image source from: azfamily.com)

An east Mesa family said they barely made it out of their home engulfed in flames, but lost nearly everything in just minutes, as a fire tore through several homes off 97th Way and Broadway Road. Last Wednesday, Veronica Chapman and her family ran out as fast as they could.

“There was no chance to go in. We barely had a chance to get out,” said Chapman. Her boyfriend John Nunez jumped into the spot of action.

“I ran out and the whole thing was engulfed in flames,” said Nunez. But there was one big problem.

“I ran down and went down here to try and get the hose but no water would come out,” said Nunez., and that’s when flames spread to everything, and almost one week later, they stood looking at everything that was gone. “Is this the license plate to my car? I should keep it. I was really excited about the car. It was my dream car,” said Chapman.

They had been watching their landlord’s puppies when the fire broke out, nine of them just two weeks old. The older dogs got trapped in the flames too.

“There’s a pit bull named Mike and his best buddy Taco, a Chihuahua and they didn’t make it,” said Chapman. She said the hardest part is trying to explain this loss to her 23-year-old son who suffers from autism.

“I feel like I can’t provide what he needs right now and that’s where I’m at. I’m his caregiver, I’m his mom,” said Chapman.

Now Chapman is left sad and frustrated as she makes phone call after phone call for help, but unsure of where to even begin.

“I don’t even know what to do to start over when you have nothing. When you have absolutely nothing, how do you start over?” said Chapman. MCSO is investigating this but has not returned our calls as to whether the cause was arson or not.

By Lokesh