A family on Indianapolis' south side was burned out of their home Tuesday, destroying a home that survived two tornadoes.
The Ritchie family's home on Hardegan Street in Perry Township went up in flames, leaving the family with next to nothing, 6News' Dan Spehler reported.
As they rummaged through what was left of the home, the family wondered if they had been living a nightmare.
"I still think it's a dream. The flames ... I woke up and thought I was in hell," David Ritchie said.
When tornadoes touched down on the city's south side in 2002 and 2004, the Ritchie's home was hit both times. The damage was still evident in a tree in the back yard.
"We fixed that and thought our luck was going to be better and ... we got a fire in the middle of the night," Ritchie said.
"The house has been pretty strong through all that time. This one took its toll," said William Ritchie.
Billy Ritchie said the family was fortunate to make it out of the home alive.
"I woke up. Fire was, like, right there in my face," Billy Ritchie said. "I jumped up. I couldn't breathe, so I went back down to the floor and started screaming for everybody."
The family doesn't know how it is going to cope with the loss during the holiday season.
"None of us want to be her anymore. It's just been too much trauma. Last night was the biggie," William Ritchie said.
"We've lost our Christmas, lost everything. We don't have no money to go get places to stay, no money to rebuild or anything," David Ritchie said.
Five adults were in the home when it caught fire. All of them escaped without injury, but one family dog did not make it.
Fire investigators said they think the blaze was sparked by an electrical problem. The People's Burn Foundation is assisting the Ritchie family. They can be contacted at 317-803-2876.
