VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Completely engulfed in flames. That's what happened to a home ravaged by fire in the Baycliff community of Virginia Beach.
Their neighbor Amy, who lives right across the street, was stunned.
"We heard a loud noise, like cracking or banging. It was unbelievable, just unbelievable inferno. We ran out and the flames were almost at the top of those trees," Amy explained.
Her neighbor's home was swallowed in flames. The fire department says two adults and three children made it out safely.
Watch previous coverage: Destructive house fire in Great Neck leaves 2 injured; cat and ferret missing
Another neighbor, Seth Stitik, captured video with his cell phone. I asked him what was going through his mind as he was recording the flames.
"Really, just horror, and honestly just terrified of the situation," he said. "Just knowing the family that lives there, it was really hard to see that. I know that the family grew up in that home. The entire time, it just felt really sad to see everything go up in smoke."
Firefighters say the winds made attacking the fire challenging for them and contributed to the devastation left behind.
Now, neighbors are taking action to help the family. Amanda Williams organized a collection effort of clothing and toiletries.
"We put a post out, asked people to sign up and we put some boxes out for the affected family members. Our hope is to collect some initial items, just to offer some immediate relief for them," she said.
Amanda just moved to this neighborhood six months ago. "We don't know them but it's Christmastime, really puts things in perspective that anything can really change overnight and so we wanted to come together as a community," she said.
If you'd like to help this family, click here.
