UPDATE: The fire was the result of an accident, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. It said a light in a closet malfunctioned and came into contact with stored combustible materials.
EARLIER:
A Palm Beach County family is thankful to be alive after an early-morning fire ripped through their home near Palm Springs.
Anai Vindel walked through the charred remains of her home on Exuma Road hours after flames ripped through the house. Not much to salvage, except for bibles. They belong to her dad, he's a church pastor.
"The Bibles, for example this one, has been untouched," said Vindel. "It just amazes me every single time I see it."
Vindel said the seven children who live here and her dad were sleeping. Her mother, who was awake, noticed smoke coming from a room around 12:30 a.m.
"She started knocking on the door trying to wake up my dad and tell him wake up, wake up, that there's a fire going on in the room and you need to get up," said Vindel.
The family ran outside but then they did a head count. The dad realized his 3-year-old son was missing. He told NewsChannel 5 as his daughter translated for him.
"My wife said, 'You can't go back in there.' She was crying and yelling. I yelled for my son but he was covered in covers."
So the dad ran into the house and rescued his son. The home is a total loss, except for the family's Bibles.
"There's a God, we can't explain things, things just happen," Anai said.
The family dog did not make it out alive. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
