(ABC 6 News) – On Tuesday, April 9, a fire caused major damage to a home in Chatfield. As crews work to save what they can save, a family is desperately searching for a home.

If you drive past the Kidder family home on Fillmore Street Northeast, it might look like just another house. On the inside, it’s a different story.

The home held a family of four, including two daughters and many animals.

— RELATED: 2 dogs, 2 cats rescued from Chatfield house fire —

On Tuesday, Sheri Kidder got a call from her neighbor telling her that her house was on fire.

“I just basically screamed, and prayed all the way home. Like ‘please, everybody be alive.”Please everybody be alive,” Kidder told ABC 6 News.

At the fire scene, Chief Luke Thieke with the Chatfield Fire Department told ABC 6 it that a heat lamp on a pet turtle’s terrarium may have started the fire in the living room.

Despite concerns the turtle didn’t make it out of its charred cage, Kidder was relieved to see that wasn’t the case.

Now, the family is staring down several thousand dollars in vet bills.

As Kidder examined the damage, she was grateful things weren’t worse.

“It could’ve been minutes and the house could’ve been done. If we got all the way thru that wall and things started crumbling, we could have had a way different outcome.”

It’s going to be a long road ahead. The Kidders have a week to find housing. That’s in addition to all the other troubles they now face.

“I guess, I had no idea that when you buy things over time, you can budget, you can get a sale, whatever. When you’re down to the wire and you’re like ‘I don’t have this and I need this now,’ you end up spending a lot of money fast,” Kidder realized.

“If you hear a fire alarm, call somebody. Don’t let someone’s house burn down in the process. I mean, it’s not worth it. If you’re wrong, and it’s nothing, then who cares, go on with your day. But if it’s someone’s entire life going up in smoke, their pets and home, lots of things and home, it’s just sentimental things. Everything.”

The goal is to move back in the next six months.

To donate to their GoFundMe, you can click here.