After The Fire: Help Roger Whitt Rebuild
One minute you go to bed bemoaning the Dallas Mavericks having to play the Los Angeles Clippers again in the playoffs. Then, in an instant, you're awakened by the smell of smoke, the crackle of wood and - after a midnight emergency evacuation out what once was the front door - the sight of your house going up in flames.
Life strikes again.
Through the years a lot of you have met my younger brother, Roger. Quiet. Unassuming. Genuinely nice fella. (In other words, nothing like me.)
My family needs your help, because late on May 16 smoldering embers from a neighbor's seemingly innocent mattress fire sparked a roaring 3-alarm fire in Roger's townhouse in far north Oak Lawn that took 70 firefighters two hours to extinguish .
The result: Gone. Everything.
Damaged by fire, smoke and/or water, all 10 units of the complex are ruined beyond recognition. The historic, 1940s building will be condemned, forcing my brother and the residents to re-boot their lives.
Fortunately, no one was injured and, last I checked, every animal - save for one cat - has been safely reunited with its owner. But, displaced and without renter's insurance, Roger is suddenly looking for the necessity of a new home and a way to fund the replacement of luxuries like new clothing, bedroom furniture, TVs, computers, etc.
He has a rough road ahead. Thank you for helping make it a tad smoother.
