Last night, my world changed in an instant. My 11-year-old daughter came to me and told me there was a fire on our balcony, and it was getting bigger. I had just put my 4-month-old son to sleep. I handed my baby to my daughter and rushed to get the fire extinguisher from under the sink. When I opened the back door and sprayed what looked like a small fire, black smoke filled my lungs. I had to shut the door to catch my breath because I couldn’t breathe. I tried again, spraying the fire, but realized the whole bottom patio was in flames. I closed the door, grabbed my keys, wrapped my baby in a blanket, called 911, and told all my kids we had to get out NOW. We ran downstairs, and I got my kids into the car. I started banging on my downstairs neighbor’s door because I knew they also had a baby. After banging about 30 times with no answer, I returned to my kids in the car, right in front of the building. Not even ten minutes later, fire was coming through the roof. We lost everything—my kids don’t even have shoes, and neither do I. Thank God my 11-year-old daughter saved all of our lives last night.

We are now starting over from nothing. We could use help with clothes, shoes, backpacks, and baby items. My 4-month-old son doesn’t have anything left. Any support will help us get essentials like beds, blankets, and household items. We stayed in a motel last night and are trying to rebuild our lives. Any help for my family would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting us as we start over after this devastating fire.