IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Aside from being uncomfortable, these bitter temperatures can put your family in danger.

Because it takes more to warm your home up when the temperature dips this low, your chance of a house fire increases dramatically.

The Copley family's home caught fire Tuesday evening.

They agreed to let WSAZ.com follow them -- to show viewers the real aftermath of something like this.

We met up with them at the American Red Cross in Huntington. The folks there got them set up with the necessities.

“Oh, wow ... talk about answered prayers,” Earlina Copley said.

From there, we headed back to what's left of their home.

“It's no Beverly Hills mansion, but you pour blood sweat and tears into a place and try to remodel,” Rodney Copley said. “We was making it a home.”

Ironton Fire Chief Tom Runyon said the fire was electrical. Old wiring had been spliced by prior owners and likely overheated because of the stress of trying to heat the home with temperatures this cold.

“This weather always brings more structural fires than other times of the year, just do to the fact that cold increases the need for heating,” Runyon said.

For Rodney and Earlina, picking up the pieces doesn't bring closure. Their 6-year-old pug Sissy was rescued from the burning home by neighbors. But she got scared and ran away.

“She's just a great little dog,” Rodney said. “The kind of dog you hope to get. And I found her, and now this happens ... And I'm really missing her.”

Aside from looking for Sissy, they're not sure where to go from here.

“I don't know,” Rodney said. “I guess we're gonna ... I don't now. I really don't know.”