The Baumgartens were on their first family holiday, in Queensland, when they got a phone call no-one ever wants to receive.
In the West Australian town of South Hedland, about 1,600 kilometres north of Perth, their home was on fire.
“There were so many calls, a lot of panic, a lot of questions were asked like, ‘Where are the keys?'” Latoya Baumgarten said.
The home was gutted by fire. (Supplied: Latoya Baumgarten)
Long-time family friend Mel Duschyer was alerted to the house fire on Broadhurst Way and ran to the scene.
“I just burst into tears when I got there,” she said.
“There was nothing that could be saved, it was all gone.
“It was upsetting and distressing to see that, knowing they do a lot for our community and they’re such beautiful people.”
Ms Baumgarten said her main concern was that their pets were OK.
“All I could think about was, ‘Are the animals safe? Did they make it out of the house?'” she said.
“I couldn’t worry about the materialistic things, I was just prioritising the two dogs and two cats.”
The Baumgartens’ Maltese Shih tzu Beau escaped from the burning home into the care of neighbours, but his brother Coco could not be found.
With the Baumgarten family on the other side of the country trying to organise flights home, the community in the regional mining town swung into action.
The Baumgartens were only able to enjoy a few days of their first family holiday together before the fire. (Supplied: Latoya Baumgarten)
Searching in shifts
Locals searched into the early hours of the morning for Coco.
“People had printed flyers to put around town the next morning, getting in touch and telling us where he had been sighted,” Ms Duschyer said.
“Everyone was taking shifts looking for him.”
After four days of searching, Coco was spotted at the local golf course.
Ms Baumgarten’s daughter Harmony, 13, went to retrieve him and found the dog in a drain, severely dehydrated and scared.
“Once I pulled him out and realised that it was him we were all in so much joy, hugging Coco,” she said.
“Coco completes our family. We would have been lost without him.
“It was great to get him back, and that we were all back together as a family.”
The Baumgartens’ cats have not been found.
Latoya and Harmony Baumgarten with Coco and Beau. (ABC News: Jessica Shackleton)
‘Little things to be grateful for’
Since then, local residents have been fundraising for the family, supplying them with cooked meals and essentials at their temporary accommodation.
The fire, which happened in October, is estimated to have caused $850,000 damage.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the cause was still undetermined.
Among the items destroyed were wedding photos and a painting from Ms Baumgarten’s late brother.
“But I’m finding little things to be grateful for in those days that followed the fire, like how we at least had a change of clothes,” she said.
“I told myself, ‘Some families in our position only have the clothes on their back, be grateful’.”
The Baumgartens say they’re grateful to firefighters for trying to save their home. (ABC News: Jessica Shackleton)
The family’s only possessions left were the items in their holiday suitcases.
They said support from the community had helped get them through.
“In a devastating moment I think [we were] … able to cope a lot more with the support that we had around us from the community,” Ms Baumgarten said.
“We cherish the times we had [at the house], but we have to just take it as is and move on, that’s the lesson,” Ms Baumgarten’s brother Tristan Smith said.
“South Hedland is a great community [with] a lot of people looking out for each other here.
“Everything will be alright.”
