GENESEO- A Geneseo family is picking up the pieces after a Thanksgiving Eve fire destroyed their home.
Bob and Lori Ward and their children have lived in the farmhouse off Ford Road for 30 years.
"We are rejoicing in every little thing we find," Lori said, after finding a photo of her father and her husband's late grandfather's bible in the ashes.
Lori was the only one home, and she escaped just in time. She never heard a smoke alarm go off.
"The smoke was contained for a while in the garage. I saw orange coming through the curtains. I thought the cornfield was on fire," she said.
She was able to walk out of the home and call 9-1-1.
"Sure that house had a lot of memories, and we loved that house. But, my family is healthy and Lori got out. That's all that matters," said Bob Ward.
The fire started in the garage, and spread to the house. Investigators don't know if the cause is related to the car or wiring in the structure.
The Wards run a part-time ministry called Walk on Water. They say people have generously donated food, clothing, and even a temporary home for the next few months.
"It could have been so much worse. Thanksgiving, we could have been planning our funeral. Instead, we're just blessed by people wanting to help," he said.
Lori was worried about her wedding ring on a dresser upstairs.
"My son-in-laws and son came out here and through the window, they used a shovel and tried to rake all the ashes they could and as they poured it into a bucket, they found my wedding ring," she said.
Accounts have been set up for the family through GoFundMe and Central Bank in Geneseo.
