MINT HILL, N.C. --
A woman in Mint Hill never thought she would fall asleep while she was preparing for Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday night, but that's exactly what happened, and now her home is destroyed.
Annie Oates had a couple dishes in pots on the stove cooking when she sat down in a recliner.
The next thing she knew, a smoke alarm woke her up around 3:10 Thursday morning.
She ran over to her neighbor's home and banged on the door.
Drew Vogel told Eyewitness News he grabbed his fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire in the kitchen, but it wasn't enough.
Vogel was still emotional when he thought about what was taken from Oates and her husband.
"It hits you hard, you know?" he said.
It took six fire departments about an hour to put out the fire.
Five were needed just to get water from the nearest hydrant.
That was more than two miles away.
An Eyewitness News crew was there as Oate's husband came home.
The professional truck driver drove from Pennsylvania as soon as he heard what happened.
"700 miles. It's a long haul when your heart is hurting, your feelings are hurting, you don't know how bad it is, said Marquis Oates.
The home and two of the couple's cars are destroyed.
Marquis said he is devastated, but still thankful on Thanksgiving.
"I can still give thanks to the God because my wife is alive and that's all that matters," he said.
Instead of hosting Thanksgiving, the couple will be guests at Vogel's house.
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