Help the Gaeta Family Rebuild After Tragedy

This is incredibly hard for me to write as I’m crying just thinking about it, but here goes…

My name is Melissa Santoro. I am the daughter of MaryAnn and John Gaeta…and sister of the now deceased Frank Gaeta. We really need your help!

On May 5th, 2025, an unbelievably horrific tragedy happened to my family. My parents and my middle brother Frank were in their home. My parents were upstairs relaxing on the couch watching TV while my brother was in the shower downstairs when all of a sudden, out of nowhere…the couch shook so hard that my mom fell off of it and hit her head on the floor. My dad looked around, and the kitchen floor was dancing 2 feet high, and he heard my brother Frank screaming. So, he ran across the kitchen floor, out the door into the four-season room, and all of a sudden, all of the windows in the entire house blew out. My dad proceeded down the stairs to the deck to the front of Frank’s apartment. He saw my brother (his son) engulfed in flames, naked, trapped behind his front door. My dad tried to save his son by opening up the door and dragging him up three stairs and used his own arms to try to put the flames out off of Frank’s body, but couldn’t. He then saw a blanket inside Frankie’s apartment, so my dad went inside to get it. He brought it outside and tried to put the flames out on Frankie again, but it was too late. Frankie had passed away. My mom was able to get out the front door of the house upstairs and was screaming for help. There was a car driving by which stopped to help my mom. My mom was screaming, “Help my son, help my husband, they’re around back!” This neighbor of theirs went around back to help my father, but it was too late. Their house had literally exploded (sounded like a bomb) and turned into a massive fire. It took 11 fire departments and several hours to put out the fire. My parents lost everything…their son, their home, all their keepsakes. I am so grateful that they both made it out alive. I am very sad about the loss of my brother, but my dad really tried to save him. My dad has 2nd and 3rd degree burns to both arms and right foot; the side of his face and the top of his head encountered burns as well, but much less severe. My dad was in the burn unit at Stony Brook Hospital and is now recovering at a rehabilitation facility. My mom was in the critical care unit at Stony Brook Hospital for a head injury from the fall, but she is now staying with my oldest brother Johnny in his home for now. Both of my parents are having such a hard time emotionally, physically, and financially. Since they don’t even have IDs, social security cards, etc., because they were destroyed in the fire, there’s no proof of who they are. My oldest brother, Johnny, and I have been trying to help our parents get things done and have found ourselves facing a lot of red tape because of them not having anything to identify who they are. We have been told that their home is an ongoing investigation and will take months before we know where the gas leak stemmed from. We believe the gas was within the walls and floor…and we believe that the pressure of it made it explode. It’s so crazy and unbelievable that one moment they are having a peaceful, enjoyable day, and a moment later they are running for their lives. Their lives are forever changed because of it.

My hopes in doing this GoFundMe page is to help my parents with the help of all of you to make their lives a touch better…one person at a time. For them to see and feel the outpouring of love and support from all of you. So please, if you can help by giving any amount of money at all…it truly will help bring normalcy back into their shattered lives. We all would be eternally grateful for the help you give here. Thank you and God bless you all.