Human Interest

Family of 9 Left Devastated After Losing Everything in House Fire: 'I'm Failing Them,' Says Mom

"Everything they had went up in flames... It's just devastating," said mom Blanca Mancinas after their Desert Hot Springs home caught fire on Sept. 22

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Published on September 29, 2021 08:15 PM

The aftermath of the house fire. Photo: GoFundMe

A family of nine is attempting to pick up the pieces after their beloved California home, and everything they owned inside, was destroyed in a fire.

Blanca Mancinas told ABC affiliate KESQ that she's struggling to process everything since her Desert Hot Springs home was engulfed by flames last Wednesday.

"There's times where I feel stuck and there's times where I just want to break down and cry," she explained to the outlet. "Like [the kids] being scared. Everything they had went up in flames... It's just devastating and I kind of feel like a failure right now. Like I'm failing them."

According to a tweet from CALFire/Riverside County Fire Department, the blaze broke out just before 6 p.m.

Firefighters responded to the scene to find a "single story, single family dwelling well involved in fire" and spent close to an hour extinguishing the flames, the tweets stated.

Once the fire was contained, fire officials announced that the family of nine people, including three adults and six children, had been displaced and were set to be assisted by the American Red Cross. KESQ reported that one of the children was just one month old.

Though everyone was able to escape without injury, the home was completely destroyed.

Photos of the damage, which were later posted to a GoFundMe page set up for the family, showed the rubble and ash piled up in what used to be their bedrooms and kitchen.

"We seriously lost everything but we're alive so thank the LORD for that," Mancinas wrote on the fundraiser.

Mancinas said she and the children's father, William Harlow, ended up creating the GoFundMe in hopes that others could help them get back on their feet and obtain essentials, such as baby diapers, wipes and formula.

"I would like to ask for help to be able to get through this, as we were not prepared for something like this, and [need to] get into another home so my children can be safe," Mancinas wrote. "I'm grateful for everyone that helped out the day it happened. I'm truly blessed to be surrounded by caring people [and] good neighbors."

Though a cause for the blaze has still not been determined by the fire department, Mancinas tells PEOPLE that she believes it may have been ignited by a malfunctioning outlet.

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"My daughter said she plugged her tablet in and the wall outlet sparked," she explains. "Her tablet started getting hot but then she left it charging in her room, which is where the fire started, from what I saw."

Following the incident, the family was put up in a motel, KESQ reported. Harlow later returned to the home, attempting to salvage any possessions he could find, but unfortunately, there was not much.

"We have to start all over again, and find a new place to stay," he explained to KESQ. "And then my kids are kind of shook up."

As devastating as it is to lose all of their belongings and home, Marcinas said she's feeling fortunate that her family survived.

"You could dress up a home you can make it looks so pretty but it's nothing if there's no kids running around and laughing," she told KESQ. "I'm just grateful. I don't feel like I'm alone in this... people have really made me feel welcomed."

"We will rebuild with a stronger foundation and plan," she added on the GoFundMe, which has raised over $1,600 of its $5,000 goal.

Those interested in donating to the family's GoFundMe can do so here.