After a fire, help Jen turn a house into a home

Hey, my name is Jen.

In January of 2022, I suffered a major house fire. It started as a very relaxed day. I didn't go to work until midday and was able to spend the morning snuggling with my two dogs and cat. I work less than a 1/4 mile from where I live but there's a thick grove of trees between the spaces. Being January, I considered leaving the dogs home. I wouldn't have been gone long and it was a pretty chilly day. Instead I decided to let them go to work to stretch their legs.

30 minutes after we left, I received the call that my house had smoke pouring out of it. I dropped everything and literally ran home. There were flames pouring out the kitchen. Chex, my cat, was still inside. She was my only concern. Not thinking, I tried the kitchen door but the flames kept me out. I then ran to the other side of my house and tried that door. I barely made it inside before literally running into something solid and very hot. I couldn't move past it. There was no way for me to get to her and I just had to wait for the fire department.

While they arrived within 10 minutes of being called, the old house was already too far gone. They searched diligently for Chex and eventually found her. She had already passed. Thankfully it seems she went while unconscious and was not in pain. I take a lot of solace in that.

In the night that followed, my dnd group took me shopping, got me clothes, dog food, and all of the essentials. They put me up in a spare bedroom they had. They came back with me the next day to photograph and sort through through the mess. There wasn't much to salvage. What wasn't literally burned, had severe smoke and water damage. Things passed down through my family, mementos of loved ones long gone, photos from my best and worst days, they were all destroyed.

One of the few things still standing was a Wyrmwood gaming table I had set up only two weeks before the fire. We thought it was a gonner because of the entire ceiling that was sitting on top of it and water that was still dribbling out from underneath. I had also heard that one of the firemen had dropped through the ceiling and landed on the table. Yet despite everything, after clearing away the debris, it was still in amazing condition. We carefully took it apart, cleaned, and recleaned every single piece. It was then wrapped up and packed away into a friend's storage shed until one day we would be able to set it up again. Given the amount of water, we weren't sure if or how well it would go back together, but we had hope. The entire ordeal was tough to process and I couldn't have done it without my dnd group. We were able to have a session the night after and it was the best time of that entire week. It was the greatest kindness and I didn't realize how much I needed that bit of normalcy.

But my week wasn't done just yet. I discovered that my renter's insurance had lapsed. So not had I only lost everything, but I had no way to replace any of it. It was just past Christmas and one of my dogs had an emergency vet visit over New Years. My savings were non existent. I could not have felt any emptier than I did during that time.

Thankfully the community I am apart of is amazing. I had a small wardrobe and several creature comforts in no time. I stayed in that spare bedroom for only a few months before being able to move into a literal tiny house for temporary housing. I was grateful to be able to have somewhere to stay, especially having experienced homelessness on a few different occasions prior to this event.

As of writing this, it's been 19 months since the fire. A new house has been built where the old one burned and it's time to start moving in. I've saved and collected what I can during the interim, but moving from a one bedroom where the living room, kitchen, and laundry area all shared a single space, there really wasn't much to relocate. The dnd group has pulled the Wyrmwood table out of storage and put it back together. There's some scuffs and some warping that doesn't affect the structural integrity of the table in the slightest. At this point I consider them battle scars that add personality.

Here is where I could use a bit of help if you are able. Right now, this house is just a house. It's missing the character of my last home. There are so many things I would like to do to breath life into this house that I just can't right now and I'm not sure if I will be able to for a few years more. I used to draw and paint quite a bit. I had much of mine and my friend's artwork displayed within the last house. I would love to be able to do that again. The mattress I have now is closer to 20 years old. It's functional but it shows it's age. Some of the dnd group used to spend the night after some especially late sessions. It would be nice to have a place for them to sleep comfortably. As I have moved in, I've purchased what I can with what I've saved, but my older dog has had a few surprise vet visits this year so my savings are still suffering quite a bit.

Everything helps, even just an encouraging word. The days ahead are looking brighter and I'm looking forward to turning this house into a home. Thank you for taking the time to read this far.