MONTCLAIR, Va. — It has been a long week for Patti Simpson and her family.
Saturday night, she returned home from a quick trip to the store, to find her home up in flames.
Crews were called to the 16300 block of Taconic Circle, in the Montclair Mews community, after someone spotted flames and called 911.
"I received a text from one of my neighbors saying 'I have Snow,' my dog, and that's when I started freaking out because I knew that it was my house," said Simpson.
Simpson says she watched in horror as the flames tore through her home and several of her neighbor's homes.
"I found a parking space and came up to one of the fire vehicles, and said 'what is happening that's my house,'" she said fighting back tears.
She has lived in the home along Taconic Circle for about 5 1/2 years.
She showed WUSA9 some of the aftermath.
"This was my kitchen," she said, as she looked around at the black soot covering everything.
The two-alarm blaze was deemed accidental by the Fire Marshal's Office, and is believed to have started in the AC unit, before spreading up on to the deck and into her home.
It quickly spread to some of the neighboring homes. Eight people, including two children were displaced, but luckily no one was hurt.
Simpson's dog Snow was inside the home when it went up in flames. Luckily he was rescued, but she says he's still traumatized.
"You can't go inside. He's just not used to not being in his house. How do you explain to a dog he can't go home," she said, as Snow whined outside the front door Friday night.
But out of tragedy, Simpson says she's also seen an outpouring of support. Someone paid for Snow to be groomed on Friday.
"I said 'oh my God that's so sweet,'" she exclaimed.
She said the donations have been pouring in, and for that she is beyond grateful.
"Every little bit is going to help and I thank everybody from the bottom of my heart that you have been so kind and generous and kind," said Simpson.
She said she hopes this serves as inspiration to anyone watching.
"Don't give up on humanity. There's nothing wrong with being kind to people and it doesn't take much. Just a smile goes a long way. But, it's important that everybody helps everybody. I'm definitely going to be paying things forward more often," said Simpson.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help her with expenses. To donate, click here.