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TOOELE — A family of six lost their home to a fast-moving fire in Tooele Wednesday morning. One person was hurt, but the Draper family is still counting their blessings.
Just before 4 a.m., Michelle Draper and her husband, Craig, awoke to noise and the smell of smoke. Michelle grabbed her three kids while her husband went for their 25-year-old son, Josiah, who was asleep in the basement.
"He tried to go down, but the smoke was so thick he couldn't," Draper said.
When firefighters got to Josiah, he was unconscious but breathing. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and a partial collapsed lung, but he was improving Wednesday evening.
The house itself didn't fare so well. The entire back end of the structure was destroyed.
But the flames did spare two closets and an American flag — a gift honoring Draper's late father-in-law who served in the Air Force.
"It's just going to take a lot of time, a lot of work to get our house fixed up again," Draper said, surveying the damage in the daylight.
Despite the loss, the family is grateful their children, including three who have autism, survived.
"That's trial enough in your life, but to have more trials compound on that has been hard to watch them go through," neighbor Liz Hamilton said.
Hamilton has seen the family make great strides over the years. In 2008, KSL did a story about their son Craig's heroism.
Craig, who is now 16, ran to Hamilton's house when his mother went into premature labor with Rachel and was in too much pain to reach the phone.
"Five years ago, he wasn't speaking very well. He was able to say, ‘My mom … we need help. Help!' and it was amazing," Hamilton said.
She and other neighbors believe the family will come out on top again, and Draper said she couldn't do it without their support.
"It gladdens my heart to know that people do care about us, and we can pull together as a community," she said.
Neighbors have been collecting donations for the family, who is staying in a hotel tonight.
They are working on setting up an official donation account and hope to have it active Thursday. Those who wish to donate* can do so at any Mountain America Credit Union branch under the account "Draper Family Relief."
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
