Amy and Alyssa Ginter Fire Relief Fund
Donation protected
My mother, Amy, is a travelling respiratory therapist. She has been working tirelessly this past year to do her part in treating COVID-19 patients as well as anyone else who needs respiratory care. She is currently on a temporary assignment in Florida, but was visiting home briefly to meet with a few contractors working on the home, and also to spend some time with her twin grandsons. She has been working her fingers to the bone this last year as well turning this house into her dream home, and has put in all of her spare time and money to make the place perfect. Alyssa, her daughter and my sister, works at the College of the Holy Cross administering COVID-19 tests to students and faculty. She is currently studying to be a secondary education Biology teacher.
On Tuesday, April 27th, Alyssa left for work around noon and Amy left shortly after to pick up some items for the house. A few minutes after she left, her robot vacuum turned on and began moving throughout the room. Investigators assume this happened fairly quickly. The robot vacuum ran over some wires. Typically there is an emergency shut off when the vacuum gets stuck but it did not activate. The vacuum kept running and started to burn. It caught the curtains, and the home began to burn.
Neighbors saw the flames and smoke and called emergency services, and even attempted to hose down the blaze themselves, but it was too late. The entire top floor of the split level home burned up before the fire smothered itself.
There were some truly irreplaceable items right at the center of the blaze, but most importantly at this moment are clothing and personal necessities. All of their clothing, shoes, toiletries, and precious items are either burnt or smoke damaged. They have been left with nothing but the clothes on their back.
The funds we are able to raise will go towards all of their basic necessities as well as travel fees for Amy - she will likely need to break her contract in Florida and travel back with the few possessions she had in place down there. Additionally, the funds will go toward the 5 displaced pets that live in the home, none of which were harmed in the fire.
Amy and Alyssa will be staying with me and my family until the determination is made about whether or not they are able to rebuild the home, so there is no concern for their shelter for now.
Every single little bit helps. We can't even express how thankful we are for everyone's help and kindness so far. This community has been so incredibly thoughtful and kind throughout this tragedy. We cannot thank you all enough.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristi Line
Organizer
Gardner, MA
Amy Castagnola
Beneficiary