A Lyford family is rebuilding after a fire destroyed their home and killed seven of their pets.

The fire happened Sunday morning at a home off U.S. Highway 77 in Lyford. Norma Vela, her mother and her son were inside when the fire started.

"I went to the bathroom and when I came back [my mother] said ‘something smells like it's burning.’ I said it's probably somebody barbecuing," Vela said.

The smell was coming from the porch. Vela said a mini split air conditioning unit was plugged into an outdoor outlet there.

"We saw outside on the porch it was catching fire so by the time we went back in and I called my son, she went into the room to unplug the other air conditioner," Vela said. "The fire got worse."

All three family members made it out safely. The house collapsed. Debris is scattered across the yard and puddles of water left behind by fire crews remain.

Vela said the family lost important documents, photos and their pets.

Seven of their pets did not survive.

"They couldn't make it out because of the smoke. It engulfed the house so bad it was dark. I left all the doors open on the side of the kitchen so at least they could run out," Vela said.

One dog, Thunder, survived. The family found him with a neighbor this morning.

“He's one of my babies so I thank God that at least one of them survived," Vela said. "The other ones are still underneath the rubble."

Vela said a family friend installed the mini split air conditioning unit about a year ago. The person was not a licensed professional.

"The proper way to install the AC is to always have it connected to the electrical panel. It needs to have a breaker. It needs to have an emergency disconnect and of course a licensed contractor should know that," Colair sales consultant and service technician Noah Gonzalez said.

The Lyford fire chief said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. The family is staying with relatives in Edcouch.

A GoFundMe was set up to help Vela and her family. Click here to donate. 

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