On March 8th, the rental home my family was living in was destroyed. The entire front section was lost to the fire, and the rest was ruined by carcinogenic smoke and ash.

I am incredibly grateful that my mum, stepdad, niece, and our animals made it out safely as the fire took hold—but we lost almost everything. What wasn’t burned is severely smoke-damaged, and we’ve spent the last few days picking through what’s salvageable and moving it into storage. Almost everything is either melted, burned, stained with ash, or reeks of smoke. It’s devastating.

Anyone who knows us knows we’ve already been through so much as a family. This is yet another heartbreaking chapter, and we can only hope that one day, things will finally get better. Right now, we are completely shattered—trying to process what’s happened while also figuring out our next steps.

We will forever be indebted to the brave firefighters who responded within seven minutes and got the blaze under control. If not for their quick actions, we would have lost everything.

One of our biggest challenges ahead is finding a new home and replacing what we lost—especially for my niece. She is neurodiverse, and strong smells are particularly difficult for her, so we’ll need to replace all of her bedroom belongings once we have a safe place for her to live. There are many wonderful community support services available and we will absolutely reach out to those organisations as well.

At the encouragement of our family in New Zealand, we’ve set up this GoFundMe to help with immediate recovery costs and essentials. This experience has been absolutely heartbreaking, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and support from friends, family, and even strangers. Asking for help isn’t easy, but every kind word, donation, and share has helped us stay positive.

To everyone who has reached out, helped, or simply offered a kind word or hug—thank you. It truly means the world. I’m taking the week off work to continue salvaging and cleaning up what we can. Sadly, we had no insurance, and the sentimental items we cherished most are gone forever—that’s what hurts the most.

We’ve set a modest fundraising goal of $500 to help with immediate moving costs and necessities. If you’re able to donate, even $10 or $20 would mean the world to us. And if you can’t donate, we completely understand—times are tough for everyone. Simply sharing this would be a huge help.

To our family and friends who have already stepped up to support us—thank you. Your kindness means more than we can express. ❤️

With love from our family,

Cass, Deb, LJ, Rob, WJ

Doggo - Penny, Cats - Charlie & Princess, Budgie- Marshmellow, Gecko - Squeek.

We also want to say a heartfelt thank you to the emergency services - firefighters, police, and ambulance crews who responded that night. Your efforts saved lives, and your care and support during such a traumatic time meant everything.