On January 19th, 2026, our lives changed in an instant when our home was destroyed by a house fire.

Monday, January 19th should have been a typical winter day. I awoke with a bit of a startle to my fiance Terrie saying "babe I think something's burning." As I opened my eyes it was clear that something was indeed wrong. A fine wisp of smoke had began filling the upstairs hallway just outside our bedroom door. I immediately ran downstairs to investigate and to check on my elderly mother. No smoke downstairs and she was shocked when I burst through her door. Ok, I thought, what did I miss. I immediately ran back upstairs and as I approached the top of the stairs I saw it. A small crease in the plaster on the ceiling had burned through revealing the flames and a stretch of wiring that had ignited the blaze. Moving as quickly as I could I ran to the basement and flipped off our main breaker to cut the power, ran and filled a container with water and threw it up into the flames. They cut out for a second but reignited quickly. During this time Terrie was calling 911. They informed her that a neighbor already called and that responders were already enroute. I quickly realized that the extent of the flames, though hidden, were obviously clearly visible from outside. We aborted any fire fighting efforts and quickly changed our focus to getting everyone out safely. We thankfully were able to get all three of us out along with our 3 year old shepherd husky mix Cooper. The actual gravity of the situation didn't really hit until all the smoke cleared and the last emergency vehicle pulled out of sight. Our home, which merely hours earlier was a comfortable 70 degrees was now a charred, delapitated block of ice. I was in disbelief. So much damage. So quickly. How? Why? Now what? I'm still in a bit of shock although it's beginning to sink in.

The fire marshal and Red Cross have officially deemed the house uninhabitable and a total loss. Everything inside is gone. (I'm working on getting some before and after photos together to show the true extent of the damage.) Unfortunately, we did not have homeowners insurance, and we are now starting from nothing.

Three of us were living in the home:

Myself, Jesse

My mom Lola

My fiancée, Terrie

And of course our dog Cooper.

Fortunately we were able to get our pets and people out in time .

What makes this fire so devastating for us is that we lost our previous home to a fire seven years ago. Luckily we had home owners insurance at the time, but after the clean up expenses and paying off the mortgage we had very little to purchase our next house. We found a fixer upper we could afford and began pouring our heart and soul into making it livable. Not our dream home, but lots of sweat and tears and we accomplished our goal.

To see it go up in smoke has been extremely devastating for all of us.

The Red Cross has been able to place us in a motel temporarily, but that assistance only lasts for a few days, and after that, we have nowhere to go and no money for housing, food, or basic needs.

We are asking for help to:

Keep a roof over our heads after emergency lodging ends

Cover food, gas, and daily necessities

Replace basic clothing and personal items

Secure stable housing and begin rebuilding our lives

This has been incredibly humbling to write. Asking for help is not easy, but we are facing homelessness after a disaster that was completely out of our control.

If you are able to donate, share, or keep us in your thoughts and prayers, it truly means more than we can put into words. Every dollar and every share helps us survive this moment and move forward.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for any support you are able to give.

With gratitude,

Jesse