ROANOKE, Va. – Philip Tompkins has hardly slept since his family and friends escaped the fire that destroyed his home early Thursday morning.
“I've been awake since 1 a.m. I'm taking it as it comes,” Tompkins said.
Tompkins and his friend, Jeffrey Sheets, came straight from the hospital to see the condition of their home.
“I just got out of the hospital. I was taken in the ambulance last night after getting out from the second-floor window,” Sheets said.
As flames shot out of the windows, Tompkins' wife grabbed their baby before the family made it out safely.
Sheets explained how he went back inside to save his girlfriend.
“I got my girlfriend, who was still on the second floor, trying to get the window screen out. She was still in the bedroom, looking for the cats,” Sheets said.
While all of the people inside survived the fire, Sheets said their three cats didn't make it out.
"I want to thank the Roanoke Fire and EMS for their help that night. It could've been a much more tragice story if it weren't for them," Tompkins said.
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the family is currently being helped by the American Red Cross.