On Saturday, December 12, the Horsham family's home was almost destroyed by a fire that started when she and her children were not home.

Chrystal, who was nursing her four-day-old newborn at the time, had left the home in the afternoon to stay at her mother's house.

"I remember laying in bed and I was exhausted, and thought to myself I might just take a nap," Chrystal said.

"When I got to my mums, my phone was on one per cent. I put my phone on charge but I had my phone on silent since my baby was born because I didn't want to wake him."

The fire started at around 9.20pm, but it was only at 10.30pm when Chrystal saw the many missed calls from concerned friends and neighbours.

"I went down to my house. I remember this total overwhelming feeling as I was looking at these fire trucks and the police cars," she said.

The combined effects of the flames, smoke and water had destroyed almost all of the family's possessions.

Chrystal could only salvage three bags of nappies and some clothes from the wreckage, which she later threw out due to smoke damage.

The family also lost their one-and-a-half-year-old Staffy, Cleo, who had given birth to puppies three weeks before.

Chrystal was told Cleo had charged into the burning home after a neighbour had opened the front door to investigate what was happening.

"I was told that if Cleo had not run back inside to get her puppies they would have not known they were there and they would not have made it," she said.

"So she died saving her puppies."

The 10 puppies, who survived the fire unscathed, have been taken by Phoenix Animal Rescue Horsham, who plan to look after the puppies until they are old enough to return to Chrystal.

READ MORE:

The animal rescue shelter is taking donations towards food, worming tablets and milk for the puppies.

Chrystal said the loss of Cleo was devastating, particularly for her children, but she was proud of the dog for looking after her puppies.

"My children could ride her like a horse and she would stand there wagging her tail. She was the best dog to be around children," she said.

Now without a home, Chrystal and her children have been couch surfing as they wait for emergency accommodation.

Chrystal's friend Brooke Dutton has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the family in the days following the blaze.

Ms Dutton, who lives in Queensland and met Chrystal online, said she wanted to do whatever she could to help from afar.

"I was inspired to make a GoFundMe page because on the night of the fire I received a message from Chrystal who was just devastated," Ms Dutton said.

"Being up in Queensland I know I couldn't be there for her, but I remembered seeing others do similar GoFundMe pages, and asked her if it was okay to set one up for her."

Chrystal said she was initially hesitant to allow the GoFundMe page as she was unsure whether it would get any responses.

However, as the donations - both online and in-person, flowed through, Chrystal said she was given new hope for the future.

"I am kind of dumbfounded by the amount of people who have donated. I am shocked," she said.

"I had no idea that the community could come together like this and work hard for someone like me.

"I didn't think that we were good enough to receive something like this."

To donate, visit Chrystal's GoFundMe, www.gofundme.com/f/help-chrystal-the-boys-rebuild-their-life.

Donated goods can be dropped off at 15 Creek Crescent, Horsham.

OTHER NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up here.