A San Jose family of five is trying to pick up the pieces after losing their home, then getting hit by looters.
On Thursday, Jeff Burdsall’s 20-year-old son was at the family’s west San Jose home about to get in the shower when smoke started billowing through the bathroom door.
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WATCH HEREHe had to crawl out through the back door to escape the growing flames that ultimately gutted most of the home.
“My neighbors put clothes on him and took care of him. And normally my daughter is home at that time too but she was out with the dog,” Burdsall said.
No one was hurt. But Burdsall said that when they returned home the next day, things looked different.
“It’s like, a few things are out of place and I was like ‘why? That wasn’t like that when I left,’” he said.
Thieves broke through one of the home’s boarded up windows and stole his wife’s jewelry from a bedside table.
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They also took a 1950s guitar from his wife’s dad that was passed down to his daughter.
“To them, it’s material but to us, it’s a lot of emotional things,” Burdsall said. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand what goes through people’s minds.”
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The Burdsall’s had rented the home for nearly 30 years.
Now, they’re trying to keep their spirits up and focusing on the positive -- including thanking their neighbors.
“Thank you so much, just taking care of us. Even though there are just crappy people in the world, there’s just so many more good people and I just can’t thank [enough] All the people that have been helping us in every way possible,” Burdsall said.
The family also set up a GoFundMe as they try to rebuild their lives after the fire and the break-in.
