The Mayer family left for vacation and got the phone call every traveler dreads: their apartment was on fire.
"All of our stuff got burned down in the fire. We literally only have the clothes on our back," Mike Mayer, a father of seven, said.
Sunday's fire in the Nestor neighborhood displaced a total of 12 people, which includes the family of nine and three other adults.
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Among the debris was unopened Christmas presents for the seven Mayer children, who range in age from 1 month to 12 years old. The baby's bassinet was one of the few items salvaged and brought out of the apartment, which was boarded up Monday evening.
Mayer says he does not mourn the physical gifts but the memories the family never got to make while opening them.
"The hard part is the time you spent getting the presents — the time you spent, the smiles, the laughter, the joy," Mayer said. "When we go back, it's all going to be gone."
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The parents do not plan to bring their children to the burned home.
"We don't plan on letting them see it because we want good memories of our past. I don't want them to see our whole life burnt," Mayer said. "It's very tragic to have your home that you worked so hard for — you build a house into a home, and it's hard for anyone to cope with this."
The children, according to their father, have wise words to share: "They respond by ‘It's OK, Daddy. At least we're all together’ or ‘It's OK, Daddy. We're all safe' or 'We'll get through this.'"
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department confirmed Tuesday the fire was accidentally caused by a space heater.
