Patricia & Nicks Apt. Fire Recovery

Hey Everyone,

As many of you may know my sister Patricia and her boyfriend Nick's apartment in Binghamton caught fire this morning. The fire started out on the floor below them, and very quickly spread to their apartment, located above. They have lost all of their possessions, short of the pajamas on their backs. Included in their loss was their beloved cat Dotty, who despite all attemps to be located
was unable to be found in time. She was found by the firefighters shortly after the fire was extinguished, but unfortunately did not survive.

We have received so much support from our family and friends, and after receiving many requests, we have created this GoFundMe as a channel for those who wants to help. Below is a picture of what used to be her bedroom.


Here are some words directly from Patricia.

"For everyone wondering what's happened:

At 5 AM this morning Nick Browne and I felt four massive explosions below our bedroom. Within seconds there was a fire blazing high enough to reach outside our bedroom window from the apartment below us. Smoke rapidly filled our apartment. We tried to find Dotty but the lights were out and electricity cut off and she hid somewhere we couldn't find her after getting scared from the noise. Nick and I were TERRIFIED that the next explosion would be our apartment. We.... left. Tried to get out the front door but there was too much smoke, we had to use the fire escape outside our balcony. Fire dept came quickly but they spent a lot of time making sure people got out safely before tending to the fire. As a result, our apartment caught fire from below and got utterly destroyed. Dotty... died from the smoke. We never thought the fire would get to our apartment.

I'm so grateful to the people who gave Nick and I clothes. We were in sleeping clothes and escaped so quickly we had no shoes and it was freezing outside. Our feet were blistering and people gave us shoes and made sure we were okay. I couldn't thank them enough. The American Red Cross gave us some money and we shortly after went to the nearest pet hospital to get Dotty cremated. We went to Walmart to rebuy the essentials. We literally lost everything. Everything. I looked like a homeless psychopath in Walmart wearing clothes too big for me and covered in smoke and soot. Sigh.

Anyways the company that owns our complex relocated us to a very nice apartment at another complex they own about 15 min away. My mom and brother came down for help and Nick's mom should be here any moment as I type this on my bro's laptop. We went back to the apartment after the fire dept left to salvage what we could. Our apartment looks like a war zone, like some nuclear bomb went off. Our bedroom is completely annihilated and is dangerous to walk in because the floor is about to cave in. We got some stuff but its minimal, most of it decorative or sentimental... like Dotty's collar and a few of her favorite toys. I still can't believe she's gone and I can't stop blaming myself for not trying harder to find her in the chaos.

I just thought I'd type this out because my phone and wallet and everything you need to function is totally gone. Not sure how long it will be till I get internet or another phone. However, Nick was able to grab his phone so if any of you want to reach me, do not hesitate to text or call his number [phone redacted].

Thank you for your love and support. I'm just grateful to be alive and this wouldn't so hard if I didn't lose such an innocent, precious little baby. I really wanted to see her grow, she was only 8 months old...

Anyways if I don't stop I'm gonna cry. Thanks guys."