Woman Helplessly Watches Family Home in Minnesota Burn While on FaceTime

A young woman watched helplessly over FaceTime as a raging fire decimated her beloved Minnesota childhood home.

Content creator and software engineer Anna Peterson, 26, lives in Manhattan, but video calls her family back in Rosemount, MN, every Saturday morning to catch up.

On Jan. 24, as the outside temperatures plunged to below zero and snow blanketed the ground, much of Anna's family, including sister Dr. Zoe Larson and two of her three young children, brother Nick (known as "Piff"), and her father were all warm inside.

Anna and Zoe were chatting casually over breakfast when chaos suddenly erupted.

"It sounded like someone was breaking inside of the house," Anna recalls to Realtor.com®. "Like this loud popping sound, as if the windows were breaking. Then everyone started screaming and running out of the house. I could hear crying, and then my sister said, 'I'll call you back.'"

For an hour, Anna was baffled and helpless, unsure what had happened. The shouts of the family even made her wonder if a mouse was inside wreaking havoc. Unfortunately, the problem was nothing that mundane.

The six-bedroom home that Anna's parents, Chris and Kerry, had custom-built in 2001—and where they had raised four children—was up in flames.

A house fire erupts

While the cause of the inferno is under investigation, Anna says her family believes it started in the garage. "At this time, the working hypothesis involves a possible spontaneous vehicle-related malfunction or battery failure," she tells Realtor.com.

Home security cameras captured the horrifying scene as thick black smoke poured from the roof, quickly spreading as the family rushed outside into the snow.

While everyone escaped safely (mother Kerry, as well as Zoe's husband and eldest child, were all out of house that morning), some family members are suffering the effects of breathing in smoke. And Zoe has frostbite from being barefoot in freezing temperatures.

Anna says that the fire department—which grew to involve 10 stations—arrived quickly. But because of the frigid weather, the water in the hoses kept freezing, resulting in a fire that couldn't be contained as quickly as it may have ordinarily been.

Losing it all

The first people to step up were neighbors—one right after the fire, and then another who was wintering in Florida and offered a place for the family to stay more long term.

"They opened up their homes for us," says Anna. "It was the biggest gift."

However, the neighbor is soon returning, so the family is on the hunt for a rental in the neighborhood.

While no house fires are convenient, this one comes at a particularly difficult time for the family. Father Chris is recovering from a 2019 stroke that left him with mobility issues, and Zoe has three small children—a 5-year-old son, a 3-year-old daughter, and a 2.5-month-old son. She was still on maternity leave when the fire broke out.

The family is also trying to replace all that they will need for daily living—everything from clothes and hygiene products to important documents like Social Security cards. Zoe, an orthodontist, lost not only her scrubs but the retainer she wears at night.

And there is the loss of sentimental and irreplaceable items, such as a collection of Swarovski crystal ornaments dating back to Anna's grandmother; old VHS tapes of the family; and mementos from patriarch Chris' time stationed abroad in the Air Force.

"If there's one thing I could tell people, it's, 'Get a fire safe for your memories, things that you don't reach for often but that are really important to you,'" says Anna.

There were a few random items that survived unscathed—such as two old passports and a couple of bell peppers in the charred refrigerator.

Spreading awareness through TikTok

As a way of coping with the trauma, Anna and her brother, Piff, have been uploading videos on TikTok of the fire and its aftermath.

"It felt natural to share the story," she says.

In one video, she emotionally recounts some of the routine possessions her sister Zoe lost, such as skin care products, makeup, and an "emotional support water bottle"—little items that hit unexpectedly hard when they're suddenly gone.

"No socks, no sound machine for your babies, no favorite blanket," Anna says, holding back tears. "[My sister] doesn't have her sentimental jewelry with her kids' names on it. She doesn't have her wedding ring."

Because Zoe and her family had just moved into the childhood home, they were not insured, says Anna. Hoping to help them rebuild, she started a GoFundMe campaign for them, which has so far raised $156,936.

What's next for the family

Anna's father has long dreamed of building a multigenerational compound—so perhaps now is the time.

"We also want to build a fireproof room," Anna says, only half-joking.

While the family is "forever changed" by this traumatic event, Anna has been extremely touched by all of those who have rallied around, not only the tight-knit Minnesota community but tens of thousands of perfect strangers who have watched her videos.

Whether it's the Taylor Swift "sisters" who replaced some of Anna's cherished memorabilia of the pop singer, or an elementary school friend she hadn't spoken to in years who donated to the GoFundMe, or the neighbors who arrived with food, Anna says her faith in humanity is stronger than ever.

"Humans are so beautiful when they show up in times of need."