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'So unexpected': How to help South Buffalo family after Walter Street fire

'So unexpected': How to help South Buffalo family after Walter Street fire
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Sara Mays started her Fourth of July weekend with nothing. Her belongings are gone after her home burned to the ground on Thursday.

"It was so unexpected, and it wasn't something that any of us could've prepared for," said Mays. "By the grace of God, we're all here and alive and we're safe."

Her sister, grandmother and dogs were all in their Walter Street home when the fire broke out around 3 a.m.

"I heard a big bang, and that's when I saw the fire," said Mays. "By then, it was everywhere. I immediately reacted, I'm like we have to get everybody out of here."

WATCH: 'So unexpected': How to help South Buffalo family after Walter Street fire

'So unexpected': How to help South Buffalo family after Walter Street fire

But get this. Just hours before the fire started, Mays was breaking bread with the firefighters who came to her rescue.

"I went to my uncle's firehouse and we cooked them a nice steak alfredo dinner," Mays said. "We plated everything and talked about our lives."

Mays loves to give back. Little did she know, she'd be getting support from others later.

Mays wearing a Buffalo Fire t-shirt
Mays wearing a Buffalo Fire t-shirt

Her uncle Eric is a Captain with Buffalo Fire at Engine 4. To help, he started a GoFundMe to get them back on their feet.

"I can't thank them enough, the support from Buffalo Fire and the Buffalo Police Department," Mays said. "So many of them have come through."

Everyone made it out okay, but her sister is being treated for burns at ECMC. The cause of the fire is under investigation.