Hope Mills home destroyed in fire

A Hope Mills family said they're grateful to be alive after a fire destroyed their home on Tuesday night.

The fire began around 7 p.m. in the 2300 block of Odom Road.

A witness to the fire, Rebecca Cain Saenz, said flames were visible from down the road.

"It looked like it had just caught on fire. It was fully consuming the house quickly. We stayed and watched it until parts of the house were falling off. You could start to see the frame of the house as [the fire] started to consume everything ," said Cain Saenz.

The homeowners said they smelled something funny, tried to shut the power off and then knew they had to get out of the house.

The family told WRAL News that, if they did not get out when they did, they probably would not have made it because of how fast the fire happened.

Everyone in the home was able to get out safely.