NEED TO KNOW

• A Missouri couple found that keepsakes from their wedding managed to survive after a fire engulfed their home days prior

• “It’s really been miraculous what things have survived, because when you look at this, it looks like nothing,” Danielle Blankenship said of the remnants of their home

• While all residents were safely evacuated at the time of the fire, two of the family’s cats died and another two remain missing

A couple from Herculaneum, Missouri, found some beauty in the rubble after a devastating fire engulfed their home.

On the morning of Nov. 12, a garage fire had broken out in Danielle Blankenship’s home in the 100 block of Hammond Drive, Herculaneum Fire Chief Kevin Baker told First Alert 4. After the homeowner woke up smelling smoke and eventually opened the door to the garage, Blankenship told the outlet that she grabbed her two young children before going outside to call 911.

While firefighters rushed to the scene, the flames quickly spread to the rest of the house as well as their neighbor’s. The fire was under control within about an hour.

According to the Herculaneum Fire Department, residents from both homes were safely evacuated without injury. Unfortunately, three of the family’s cats died in the fire and two others remain missing.

“We appreciate all the help from our mutual aid assistance,” Baker told Leader Publications, noting that the cause of the fire remained under investigation. “Our police department did a great job and showed quick thinking on evaluating neighbors.”

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Following the tragedy, Blankenship and her husband were left to rummage through the rubble that was once their beloved home. And although digging through the ashes was a painful experience, the couple discovered that a few precious items from their wedding managed to survive the fire.

“We were lucky,” Blankenship expressed. “We found our wedding rings, our photo albums … it’s really been miraculous what things have survived. Because when you look at this, it looks like nothing. It looks like there would be absolutely nothing.”

Although Blankenship and her husband were able to find little joys in the wedding keepsakes, she went on to reveal that looters had attempted to steal some of the items left lying in the rubble.

“If it wasn’t bad enough, we’ve got people trying to take what little we have left,” she said. “It’s just putting salt in wounds.”

Read the original article on People