Donation protected
My dear friend Emily and her family Had a house fire and have lost everything! Please help if you can…she has 3 kids and her and her fiancé need some help.
Our house caught FIRE this past Friday evening. Luckily NO injuries, we are all SAFE
Thank you Monarch and West County fire departments. You are true heroes! I think 5 or 6 engines responded. The fire report is in progress.
Currently, we are not able to live in our home. The extent of the damage is MAJOR and yet to be determined by insurance. We made the claim immediately while they extinguished the fire. We have Safeco and they haven’t been to the property yet despite having reached out multiple times. We are so frustrated about the lack of support from insurance so far. Hotel is only thing they’ve initiated and that wasn’t easy! We only have it until Monday as of now… And we need more than two rooms for my sanity. Plus I will need to sleep during the day as a night nurse… how?
My sisters have kept the kids a lot of the time these past few days while James and I assess and secure what’s left of our house and belongings.
The fire started in the garage which is destroyed beyond recognition, completely melted. It spread to our laundry room/bathroom, my bedroom/closet/bathroom. The fire continued into the attic charring across the ceiling of our entire second floor into the kids rooms. The smoke damage involves the entire house. The water used to put out the fire has flooded most of the house and our storage area in the basement. The finished portion of the basement is slowly getting damaged/flooded as water drips from the ceiling. The drywall is falling everywhere. Attic insulation is everywhere. I can see the sky in my bedroom and laundry room. Bugs are getting in. I’m sure more creatures will too. Mold too?
Car/all contents of the garage/ Appliances/ furniture/ mattresses/ bedding/towels/ electronics (many electronic items if you know us we are techies)/ laptops/ macbook/clothing/ work uniforms/ scrubs/ toys/ books/ stuffed animals/ favorite blankies/ bikes/scooters/ ladders/ tools/ power tools (which James needs for work)/ sentimental items/ baby items/framed portraits/ holiday decorations/important documents (lesson learned about fire safes)/jewelry/Apple Watch/ shoes/accessories/ various kitchen items/ cleaning supplies/vacuums/ luggage/back packs/winter coats/ home repair items/ and sooo much more are all heavily damaged or GONE. And the things that look fine have a horrible fire smell that makes me nauseous The fire was so hot it melted our neighbors siding. So grateful it didn’t catch her house on fire too!
The pool will need to be closed immediately, there is no way to care for it and ashes and roof material are blowing into the water
We are DEVASTATED, feeling DEFEATED, and facing the UNKNOWN
Our employers have granted time off this week to take care of things. The kids start back to school in a few weeks 8/19. 1st 4th and 9th grade.
Liam’s 15th birthday was Thursday, I couldn’t imagine while singing him “happy birthday” in our kitchen that 24 hours later that kitchen would be destroyed.
We work SO hard to provide a good life for our kids! I’m trying to find God’s will in all of this.
Again, so very grateful we are alive and safe.
Our immediate family and neighbors have been helping since the moment it happened. They have done so much I can’t even begin. We couldn’t survive without them! They have donated Food items and water, gift cards, trash bags, bins, shovels, brooms, power cords, etc. The PTO reached out and is taking care of kids school supplies. The $ and donations we have received so far help in every way since we have to start over with almost everything immediately. And I’m learning insurance does very minimal in the early moments of crisis. Thank you everyone for your kindness and generosity.
Again, I’m so very thankful we are alive and were able to walk away from this fire physically unharmed. I’ve had a couple mental meltdowns, but keep it contained to alone in my car. I screamed so loud in my car at the gas station the other day I thought maybe they’d call the cops lol
Taking it day by day and pray my children are not greatly affected as we endure this horrible chapter. We all say “it’s just material things” but when you lose it all so suddenly it’s shocking. I’m still in shock. I woke up today and then it hit me again. And I’m not ready for “mom I miss my house, I want my toys, I miss my friends”.
Hotel is fun for now…. But Hotel life is not fun when you don’t have a home to go back to.
There is a house on our street for rent. We messaged the insurance rep about it so we shall see:
Making this post was very difficult for me. I’m independent and stubborn. I don’t ask for or accept help easily. I usually try to do everything myself. I’m a first born type A ♀️ but I’m learning I can’t make it in this world alone.
And from all of the support so far I’m learning WE are NOT alone thank you!!!
I will respond/ update as time allows as we sort out our lives in the coming days, weeks, months.
Love you ALL ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Heather Webb
Organizer
Lemay, MO
Emily Maupin
Beneficiary