Bastrop family devastated by propane tank fire

A family in Bastrop just barely survived after their propane tanks exploded in their trailer home.

Around 3 a.m. Monday, Mark and Nickie Metzler and their two children were asleep in their trailer home.

“I rolled over on my shoulder and it hurt, so it woke me up and I heard a noise. Then it stopped and I went and opened the door, looked over to the right, didn't see nothing, looked to the left and the whole yard was just lit up,” Mark said. 

Mark grabbed his wife and they ran to the other side of the home to save their children.

“Before we even cleared the yard, the whole back of the house was already engulfed, where we sleep at as a matter of fact,” said Mark. 

“It sounded like someone had set off, you know when you're little kids and you put a bunch of fireworks together and that really big boom, that's what it sounded like. Just one after the other. It looked like a dragon was behind there blowing fire,” Nickie said.

Mark and Nickie watched as the fire ate through everything they own.

“All this stuff, we worked hard for it. People might say it ain’t much or nothing, but I worked hard for it. We worked hard for it,” said Mark.  

The Metzler's five-year-old son Ashton was diagnosed with non-verbal autism. A tablet helped him communicate with his parents. That and his medical supplies were lost to the flames, as well as some irreplaceable family keepsakes.

“I lost my mom in January and all of the stuff that was left to me from her, her jewelry and everything else, that was all in there. And so, I started shoveling and I started coming across stuff like that, and I finally got to the point where I just said I can't mess with it right now,” Mark said. 

One of the hardest parts for Nickie was finding out their seven-month-old puppy never made it out.

“We had everything in here. We really did. Our dog, clothes, everything,” said Nickie. 

The Metzler's are trying to start over and say they are grateful for all the help they have received from their friends, family and neighbors.

“So it seems like everybody's pulled together for us. It's a little overwhelming,” Nickie said. 

The Metzler’s did not have insurance on their home.

There is a GoFundMe page set up to help them out here.