Community hopes to save family's Christmas after fire destroys home

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO (KCTV) -

A family of five lost their house, Christmas presents and decorations when a fire destroyed their Excelsior Springs home.

Now, a local diner is hoping to help by collecting donations for the family.

The fire destroyed the family's home in the 300 block of Haynes on Tuesday afternoon. A 5-year-old boy named Lucky noticed the smoke and alerted his dad who was sleeping at the time.

"Luckily Lucky woke me up. He saw some smoke in the kitchen. He said, 'dad, dad I see some smoke,'" his dad, Joe Clark, said. "He lives up to his name continuously. He's just a little jewel. Both my boys, we've been blessed with two beautiful children."

Clark, his fianc Lura Pate, their sons 6-year-old Odin and 5-year-old Lucky and the boys' grandmother, Renna, all lived inside the home.

Firefighters believe old electrical wiring in the attic started the fire.

Firefighters rushed to save the majority of the boys' Christmas presents. Several presents and Christmas decorations were destroyed.

"I couldn't thank them enough. I don't even have the words to describe that feeling when I saw those boxes of gifts sitting perfectly fine outside on the lawn," Pate said.

The bedrooms inside the home were badly damaged by smoke and water. The upstairs bedroom and attic were also destroyed.

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Community hopes to save family's Christmas after fire destroys home