Texas Department of Public Safety trooper David Moya received a devastating phone call from his sergeant early in the morning two days after Christmas.
Moya’s sergeant told him that his house, near the intersection of Carol Avenue and I Street in Monahans, had caught on fire and been completely destroyed.
On Friday morning, Moya stood outside of his charred two-story residence and said that almost everything inside the house wasn’t salvageable as the items were either burnt, had smoke damage or water damage.
“Every time I see it, it puts a pit in my stomach,” Moya said. “You never think this could happen to me and it does. It’s something that’s out of your hands and you can’t do anything about it. You work hard to provide a home to your family and you lose that, it’s like a punch to the stomach.”
Those items included Moya’s official work attire as a state trooper. Moya said he has worked as a trooper for 13 years with the last five in Monahans.
Moya said from the hat to the boots that it was spare clothing found at the Monahans DPS office. Moya said he will be refitted in Austin for long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts, pants, boots and two hats.
“It’s a little bit from everybody,” Moya said with a smile.
For the last two weeks, Moya, his wife and four children have been staying at a hotel in Monahans. Moya said on Monday that he and his family are going to live in a rental home owned by one of his friends.
Moya said that he and his family will be living at the rental home until the insurance company either tells him to either rebuild or purchase a different house.
“Insurance is funny and sometimes they have a say so in what you do,” Moya said. “For us, either would be fine. If we have to rebuild, we will rebuild. If we have to get a new home, that’s another option.”
Over the last two weeks, Moya and his family have been met with a wealth of generosity.
A GoFundMe page has been started to benefit Moya and his family. The page has raised $11,760 as of Friday afternoon. Moya and his family have also received clothing and other gifts from friends, colleagues and other people from across West Texas.
“A lot of the funds that are coming in are from people that we don’t know and some I’m not going to be able to go out and personally thank,” Moya said. “I wish I could. That’s people giving their hard earned money to help my family. I really appreciate it. It’s awesome when people come together to do that.”
Around 4:30 a.m. Dec. 27, Moya received a telephone call from his sergeant asking if he was at his house in Monahans. Moya told his sergeant he was at his parents’ house in Levelland. Moya’s sergeant informed him that his house had caught fire and the fire department was attempting to put it out.
When Moya returned home, the fire department told him the fire started from heating lamps located near the house in the backyard. Moya said the heating lamps were for his two Great Danes. Moya said the Great Danes weren’t harmed.
