Rybicki Family Fire

On July 4th 2020 while getting ready for bed, Rich Rybicki noticed a puff of smoke come from the front door. While investigating why there was smoke by the door, he soon realized the front porch was on fire and he quickly exited the home through the back door with nothing more than the house phone to dial 911 and his pajama shorts. Knowing that he lives in a rural area and wanting to stop the fire from consuming the dream home that he built with his parents and friends, he grabbed the garden hose and sustained multiple burns on his face and legs before realizing that his efforts to put out the fire were not enough. Over the next 30 minutes while awaiting the fire department, Rich watched his home and all of his belongings become fully engulfed in flames as the home started to collapse on itself.

Rich has had a tough year, in August of 2019 he had to take a leave of absence from work due to a spinal surgery to fix a deteriorating disk and pinched nerves that were the result of a previous back injury and age.  This surgery left Rich in a neck brace for a few weeks and he lost all feeling and strength on the left side of his body.  Over the course of the next 6 months, Rich drained his savings trying to keep up with the bills and other life expenses, and soon had to make the tough decision of which bills didn't seem as important in the now while covering those that were.  Rich returned to work in late January 2020, excited to be back to work and looking forward to being back on his feet financially.  Unfortunately, like many, Rich was laid off work at the beginning of March because of the Covid-19 shut downs.  Rich was left unable to afford the home insurance policy while also being able to put food on his table, as like many we do not always plan for a tragedy or think that it'll be okay for a couple months and nothing will happen.

Tragedy did strike as quickly and unexpected as any tragedy does.  While we are thankful that Rich was able to escape the fire and did not sustain any major injuries, he did lose everything in the fire except the pajama shorts he was wearing at the time.  We are hoping to raise the funds to help Rich with food, clothes, cleanup and rebuilding costs.

Victims of fires face tremendous emotional stress and financial costs.  We hope that this fund will help alleviate some of the many challenges Rich will face over the next few months as he tries to piece his life and home back together.

In this uncertain time, we know many people are facing hardships and we are extremely grateful for any donation.