HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Marine and current Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Agustine Arellano said that he was out in the community working to save lives when Thursday's deadly storms rolled in.
"The call that I was on was an 85-year-old woman with COPD. She just flat-lined," he said.
Moments after helping save her life, Arellano realized he had missed calls and texts from his wife who was home along with their three children.
"I called her back and she was, like, 'A branch came through the kitchen,'" he said.
The branch turned out to be a tree that had split their home in half.
"The branch came through the kitchen. ... You can see where the kitchen was. They had just finished eating dinner," he said.
Seconds later, the family discovered something else.
"They could see the attic and the insulation was on fire," Arellano said.
The fire spread quickly with flames taking over the entire home. Luckily, the family made it out alive, but they lost everything.
"The youngest one, the 6-year-old, he didn't even have time to grab shoes or anything so they left with what they were wearing," Arellano said.
Two of his son's turtles died in the fire.
"Of course, he's heartbroken," Arellano said.
Left with nothing, the family turned to the community for help. They created this GoFundMe account to help them recover.
First Responders Children's Foundation stepped in, too.
"We're a national organization with a mission to support children on first responders through our program, our emergency hardship grants," said CEO and President of First Responders Children's Foundation, Jillian Crane.
Crane said Arellano and his family qualified for their emergency financial hardship grant. They also encouraged others to reach out for help.
"Don't worry about your pride, reach out. That's what these organizations are there for -- to help -- and they can't help you if they don't know," Arellano said.