After a disastrous fire consumed Andalusia local Christina Johnson’s home, she said that the city has rallied behind her completely.

At approximately 3:15 p.m., Tuesday afternoon, Johnson said that she received a call from her son that made her heart drop.

“When Eli called, he was coughing,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘The house is on fire,’ and all I said back was, ‘Huh?’ and he replied, ‘Mom, the house is on fire. There is black smoke everywhere.’”

Johnson asked her son what caused the fire, but he replied that he didn’t know because he was asleep when it started.

“He told me that something just told him to wake up,” Johnson said. “He said that he thought it was just Cameron cooking, but Cameron wasn’t there. The fire department chief told Eli that he was lucky because the smoke is supposed to put you in a deeper sleep. It was nobody but God that woke him up.”

When Johnson first heard the news, she thought that it was a small kitchen fire, but when she showed up to the house she quickly realized that was not the case.

“The house was completely engulfed in flames,” Johnson said. “The fire actually started in my bedroom, where Eli was asleep. It was an electrical fire that started in my bedroom.”

After the smoke settled, Johnson said that she was just grateful that her sons were OK.

“In the beginning, I was upset,” Johnson said. “But now I am grateful that my sons are alive. The material things don’t matter anymore because my son’s life is something that is irreplaceable.”

Everything in the home was lost, but Johnson said that the community has been overwhelmingly generous.

“A lot of people hate small towns,” Johnson said. “But this small town has really helped me and my kids these past two days. We are very very appreciative for what everybody is doing for us. My job was right behind me when I pulled up to the house and they paid for a hotel for us to stay in. Our church took us to Wal-Mart to buy clothes for the boys. The Andalusia Police Department has really stepped up, and I can’t thank them enough. I have had classmates and my son’s teachers reaching out to donate stuff. So, I have been running around trying to get that. Whenever I get my boys set then I can worry about me.”

Looking forward, Johnson wants her boys to understand how blessed they are.

“They have seen first hand how God works,” Johnson said. “You can feel like you are all set and then you can lose everything in the blink of an eye and you have to start back over. They get to see God working right before their eyes. I have been trying to get Elijah to see that and now he really sees that. I’m just trying to get everything as stable as possible before school starts.”

For anyone wishing to donate clothes, the family needs:

Teenage boys shoes: 11.5 and 10.5.

Shirts: Adult medium

Men’s pants: 34/36.

Women’s shirts: Extra Large

Women’s shoes: 8.5

Women’s pants size: 16