NHHS Family Loses All To Fire

On Oct 4, 2018, there was an electrical fire that devastated the home of Tracy Fox and her son Grant (junior, Newport Harbor H.S.). They believe the point of origin was on or around a power strip.

Woken up around midnight to the sound of the smoke alarms, Grant, and his buddy who was spending the night, saw that a fire had started in his room. After calling 911, they tried their best to put out the fire, but were soon overcome by the fire, heat and smoke. It became an uncontrollable blaze that very quickly spread throughout the home. They were very fortunate that no one was badly injured and it was contained before it spread to surrounding homes (thank you NBFD!).  Unfortunately, damage to their (rental) home was extensive, and all of their belongings virtually turned to a smoked mess or disintegrated heap of ash.  They were left with the clothing on their backs.

Yes, they have renters insurance. Yes, the structure was properly insured. But they are left with the immediate task of finding a place to live as well as start the expensive task of rebuilding a semblance of a normal life/home (clothing for one!) so Tracy can get back to work as an independent contractor court reporter and Grant can go back to being a high school junior.  Not only that, Tracy, the renter, is responsible for lawfully removing the enormous amount of debris from the interior of the house - an entire house, a lifetime of possessions. While there will be indemnification from the insurance (but who carries enough?!), that will take months.

Because Tracy is always the one helping, donating, and contributing to NHHS and others in need, and has never been on this side of the situation, she is shy about asking for help. But I'm not! Beautiful karma, I say. Please help this single mom and her son get their life back to as normal as possible as they wade through the aftermath of this devastating fire. The outpouring of donated clothing and gift cards etc. - from strangers - has already been wonderfully heartwarming. But she needs an influx of cash for all the immediate expenses:  downpayment on a rental, basic necessities etc. Every dollar helps. Please give what you can. Thank you so much for your consideration and generosity!!! 

Tracy is eternally grateful for this community and wants to share these lessons: * Put fire extinguishers in every bedroom or at least bathrooms. Under the kitchen sink is not always easily accessible. Teach your kids how to use it and the different types of fires. ** Have the recommended amount of smoke alarms, and replace the damn batteries (this saved their lives)! More to come from her after she becomes an expert on fire damage, the aftermath and recovery.