HOUSTON – A Southwest Houston family has been displaced after a fire destroyed most of their home on Christmas Day.
It happened at about 8 a.m. on Thursday at a home on Ingomar Way and Bow Lane.
The family was sleeping when Juan Rios and his wife woke up to the sound of a "pop" and the strong smell of smoke in the hallways.
"I'm telling my wife, go in the kitchen, something you forgot from last night and when she's coming, there was a big fire," said Juan Rios.
Investigators say it appears as though the fire started from an electrical problem in the living room.
Rios says eight people were home at the time of the fire, including his children and grandchildren, and they all evacuated the house immediately.
"Thank you God that everybody is okay. The materials is just materials, you know," said Rios.
The fire caused heavy smoke damaged throughout the home. The Rios family tried to salvage what they could from the house and left to stay with relatives nearby.
"If the grandfather wouldn't have woken up to the smell of smoke, this very well could have been tragic," said Captain Chad Mccune with the Houston Fire Department.
Firefighters say there were no working smoke alarms in the home.
"Definitely check your smoke alarm and if you don't have them, install them," said Captain Mccune.
The City of Houston installs free smoke alarms for those who don't have them.