Rebuild Hope for the Thao family

Hello, my name is Michael Thao. I am a loving father, devoted partner, and veteran. In the early morning (3:30 AM) of 03/01/2025, my family was woken by the smell of smoke in our apartment complex. My partner and I immediately grabbed our children from their beds and began getting them ready to step outside. During this time, smoke began filling into our living room. We understood that there was a fire, but did not know where from.

Light clothing was only able to be put on our children due to the smoke quickly filling into the room. We quickly left with none of our belongings, only grabbing the essentials, our children. When I stepped outside, I realized that the fire was burning from the apartment adjacent to ours. My family was sleeping a mere 15 ft away from a roaring blaze. The only thing separating us from the flames was a wall.

We loaded our children into the vehicle and pulled away from the fire. The last thing I wanted was to have my three-year-old daughter see our home being burnt down. So I drove away from the chaos. Our children were dropped off at their grandparents' house while my partner and I decided to make our way back to see if the fire was stopped.

As we approached our home, we saw the glow of orange and yellow. We passed the tree line that blocked our line of sight and were faced with a horrible sight. The entire complex was up in flames. Our picture scrapbook of our children growing up, gone. The first drawing that was given to me from my daughter, gone. My son's ultrasound pictures, gone. The hard drive that held 6 years' worth of pictures of our family... gone. And my 3-year-old daughter's favorite stuffed animal, "MooMoo," that she's had ever since she was a baby, gone. She continues to ask us where her "MooMoo" has gone, and we tell her that he's visiting the doctors. We ordered her a new one, and he will be returning after his doctor visit. Everything that we owned has been taken by the flames.

We are lost and confused. We are starting over from nothing. We reached out to our local community for help and guidance, and they have done an amazing job at showing us support. I am proud to be able to call these wonderful people in my community my neighbors. Each and every one of them, with their kindness, has brought tears to my eyes.

I am here today asking for donations to help my family recover from this tragedy. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. God bless you all. ❤️