Teen walking in Chesterfield Township sees flames, alerts resident about house fire

Chesterfield family loses pets after fire destroys home

A dog, cat, and bird were killed in a Chesterfield Township house fire this week. Now, the family is trying to piece their lives back together after the blaze that destroyed their home.

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A teenager was walking in Chesterfield Township on Monday afternoon when they spotted flames at a home.

The teen alerted a tenant who rents a room at the house on Anchor Drive and Jefferson.

"I was talking to God, 'please don’t take my babies,'" Frenae Colling said.

Colling and her mother Kelly, animal lovers with multiple pets, lost a dog, cat, and bird in the fire. Eight cats and a pig were rescued.

(Photo: Bill M.)

"He’s actually doing well. He’s back to his normal shenanigans," Colling said, referring to her pig, Oliver.

That's about the only thing normal for the family as they heal from what happened.

"On Christmas looking at your house, looks so beautiful and then the next day it’s completely gone," Colling said. "We’re starting from scratch, everything. We are starting completely over."

While possessions were lost, the worst part was losing the animals.

"It’s not just the things. Honestly, I don't care about the things that we lost. It's really just our pets," Colling said. "I’m still waiting to wake up from the nightmare."

Colling and her mother are staying with her sister. For now, Colling is trying to look for a silver lining.

"There was a girl I've never even met before on Snapchat that came and paid tons of her own money just to get us food. I'm just so grateful for the community. Honestly, it restores my faith in the world," she said.

The fire is forcing the family to push back foot and back surgeriesch for Kelly, and esthetician classes Colling wanted to take are now on hold.

"I still am going to go work, though. I’m going to try push through and try to make life as normal as possible," she said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.