Help My Friend
Donation protected
GoFundMe to Help Tracy Trypuc & Kirk Cronk Recover Losses from a House Fire
It was a Friday evening, about two weeks ago, when the weather was lovely and we were about to sit down and enjoy supper and a quiet evening together. Suddenly, one word, changed our lives forever. Fire.
Initially, I wasn’t sure what I had heard him say, was this real? One might prepare for such a disaster, but never experiences it. I have difficulty walking, had just recently had hip surgery and was resting in bed when I heard that word. I managed to get over to where Kirk was yelling and I grabbed the fire extinguisher, nearly falling. Kirk tried to use the hose but the flames were already too high and the heat too intense. From where I was, the extinguisher was no match for this rapidly spreading fire as the siding began to melt, the windows cracked and shattered like an explosion. The heat from the flames was beginning to feel very hot.
Fortunately, a neighbor rushed in, grabbed me and assisted me out of the house. I had already breathed in too much smoke. He had me sit in a chair. The next thing I know a firefighter grabbed my wheelchair and pushed me across the street to a neighbor’s so I would be farther away from the smoke. That would be my vantage point for what seemed like hours watching my house burn more as the flames jumped from room to room to roof and all that time worrying about my cats. The time was more likely 30 minutes because my breathing was bad enough that I was rushed to the hospital where I stayed until the early hours of the morning.
Kirk stayed on the scene assisting and answering questions. When the fire was eventually out, he met me at the hospital where I had been diagnosed with smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning which aggravated my asthma. Fortunately, Kirk was not injured.
The fire came within inches of where two of our cat’s love to sleep. One of them was sleeping in the window when the fire broke out. We did not know what happened to our cats for days. An animal rescue group finally gained access to our home with Kirk and searched. It took twelve days to get our last cat out of the smoke-permeated home. We are fortunate that there was no loss of life.
Once discharged, we met with the Red Cross who assisted us in getting into a hotel for a few nights. Unfortunately, we needed to stay there longer than planned and incurred more expenses. We eventually found temporary housing, but we are paying for it. Normally, this would not be a problem; however, Kirk lost his job from the Long Island Council of Churches after they closed two of their food pantries. Therefore, we are unable to save enough money to move into a new rental that requires first month, last month, security deposit and broker fee which can be as much as $12,000.00 to lease a new rental.
The fire destroyed four of the main rooms in the house; the master bedroom, the kitchen, dining room, and living room. All the furniture in these rooms has been ruined either by smoke, falling embers, and/or water damage. Damage from the falling roof, ceiling and sheetrock ruined the other rooms. I still can’t go near any of the smoke damaged items because I am still having difficulty breathing and wheezing.
It was a Friday evening, about two weeks ago, when the weather was lovely and we were about to sit down and enjoy supper and a quiet evening together. Suddenly, one word, changed our lives forever. Fire.
Initially, I wasn’t sure what I had heard him say, was this real? One might prepare for such a disaster, but never experiences it. I have difficulty walking, had just recently had hip surgery and was resting in bed when I heard that word. I managed to get over to where Kirk was yelling and I grabbed the fire extinguisher, nearly falling. Kirk tried to use the hose but the flames were already too high and the heat too intense. From where I was, the extinguisher was no match for this rapidly spreading fire as the siding began to melt, the windows cracked and shattered like an explosion. The heat from the flames was beginning to feel very hot.
Fortunately, a neighbor rushed in, grabbed me and assisted me out of the house. I had already breathed in too much smoke. He had me sit in a chair. The next thing I know a firefighter grabbed my wheelchair and pushed me across the street to a neighbor’s so I would be farther away from the smoke. That would be my vantage point for what seemed like hours watching my house burn more as the flames jumped from room to room to roof and all that time worrying about my cats. The time was more likely 30 minutes because my breathing was bad enough that I was rushed to the hospital where I stayed until the early hours of the morning.
Kirk stayed on the scene assisting and answering questions. When the fire was eventually out, he met me at the hospital where I had been diagnosed with smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning which aggravated my asthma. Fortunately, Kirk was not injured.
The fire came within inches of where two of our cat’s love to sleep. One of them was sleeping in the window when the fire broke out. We did not know what happened to our cats for days. An animal rescue group finally gained access to our home with Kirk and searched. It took twelve days to get our last cat out of the smoke-permeated home. We are fortunate that there was no loss of life.
Once discharged, we met with the Red Cross who assisted us in getting into a hotel for a few nights. Unfortunately, we needed to stay there longer than planned and incurred more expenses. We eventually found temporary housing, but we are paying for it. Normally, this would not be a problem; however, Kirk lost his job from the Long Island Council of Churches after they closed two of their food pantries. Therefore, we are unable to save enough money to move into a new rental that requires first month, last month, security deposit and broker fee which can be as much as $12,000.00 to lease a new rental.
The fire destroyed four of the main rooms in the house; the master bedroom, the kitchen, dining room, and living room. All the furniture in these rooms has been ruined either by smoke, falling embers, and/or water damage. Damage from the falling roof, ceiling and sheetrock ruined the other rooms. I still can’t go near any of the smoke damaged items because I am still having difficulty breathing and wheezing.
Organiser and beneficiary
Ej Lopez
Organiser
Rocky Point, NY
Tracy Trypuc
Beneficiary