PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — What began as a celebration for a job promotion ended with a family of 4 losing their house to a fire Friday night in Portland.
Natasja Gonzales said she and her boyfriend planned to celebrate his promotion with a hot dog and hamburger backyard cookout. But the grill fire got out of control and set the house on fire.
“My boyfriend was, like, ‘The house is on fire, get everybody out!'” she told KOIN 6 News. “It just happened so fast.”
She quickly grabbed her 2 young sons and got them safely out of the house. The whole family and their pets made it out but they lost everything.
Clackamas Fire officials said the barbecue had been left on and caused the fire.
For Gonzales, who is a CNA at the Kaiser Sunnyside office, the painful reality of losing everything is just now setting in.
“I’m realizing that I can’t go home and I really want to,” she said. “You know, when you’re sad and you have something going on, you just want to be in your comfort spot. And I’m like ‘Oh, I really can’t go there.’”
Her sister set up a GoFundMe page for Gonzales and her family.