Sally & Rob's Apartment Fire Fund
Donation protected
As many of you know, while they were on vacation over the holidays, Sally and Rob's family apartment building in Chicago experienced a fire. They were not home and are all safe but everything they own that was in their apartment has some degree of smoke and/or water damage.
They are back in Chicago now and living temporarily in a hotel nearby while they deal with the fallout from this awful situation. You can read more about what happened via Sally's Facebook update that I pasted below.
To cheer them up, and to help them through this tough time, we are organizing this GoFundMe drive to provide them with gift cards (Target, etc.) to replace their immediate daily needed items, and to perhaps buy them some gift cards to local Chicago restaurants/bars that they can go to and forget their worries for a time!
Sally has been an invaluable leader and friend to all of us and we want to make sure she knows how loved she is!
Donate as much as you'd like and I will organize getting the gift cards to her and Rob.
- Allison
Sally's Update:
"As Rob Muller said today to our friends, “I highly recommend if you are going to have a disaster on the home front to be looking out at a national park when it happens.” This really was so perspective getting, and also just wonderful to go onto have, even after learning of the fire, an amazing week at Zion, Bryce and Death Valley with Ben Muller Elena Muller Marion Muller.
So here is the situation:
- The fire started on the third floor balcony of our apartment building. Still under investigation. Only two of the families were home the morning of the fire and they and their pets all got out –the fire caused a loud explosion which, while scary, had the effect of alarming people and getting them up and out safely.
- Nala was with Abby, our pet sitter, and thankfully they’d left on Christmas Eve day to go to her parents for Christmas on Chicago’s South Side. Nala then stayed all week with Abby/her family.
- The top floor (third) of our apartment was badly burned (basically destroyed) by the fire, which was very hot and very fast.
- Our floor (second) was primarily impacted by pretty massive smoke damage and water to some degree.
- The building will need to be refurbished/rebuilt and this will take months.
- We are now living at the Best Western in a small suite near our Wellington Avenue apartment (it’s actually very nice) and are looking simultaneously for a new apartment to rent and if we cannot find that quickly a furnished apartment for 2 to 3 months, hopefully in our neighborhood or Lincoln Park.
- Everything in the apartment (and I mean every single thing) must be treated for smoke and -- in some cases --water damage. The apartment is sort of like a hazmat site right now – with insurance adjusters and disaster mitigation folks working hard to get everything dealt with in the next 48 hours when the walls are coming down in the building. Every item is being inventoried, and categorized as “toss” or “restore.” Then it will be trashed or packed up, sent to a warehouse to be treated for smoke mitigation, and then stored until we can reclaim it. This is a GIANT undertaking and Rob is the one there overseeing all this as I am in Bethesda as of yesterday with Marion/Nala since she (Marion) had her wisdom teeth out this morning. [She’s doing fine!]
- We continue to feel unspeakably blessed that no one was hurt [or worse], and so touched by the outpouring of support and encouragement (and good advice) by friends and family far and wide. Both Rob’s colleagues at NLU and mine at UsA2 are being patient, supportive and understanding as we regain our footing; we are so grateful for that too.
- I’ll do another update when we have more information about our whereabouts.
- Thank you again and with so much gratitude for your support.
XOXO
They are back in Chicago now and living temporarily in a hotel nearby while they deal with the fallout from this awful situation. You can read more about what happened via Sally's Facebook update that I pasted below.
To cheer them up, and to help them through this tough time, we are organizing this GoFundMe drive to provide them with gift cards (Target, etc.) to replace their immediate daily needed items, and to perhaps buy them some gift cards to local Chicago restaurants/bars that they can go to and forget their worries for a time!
Sally has been an invaluable leader and friend to all of us and we want to make sure she knows how loved she is!
Donate as much as you'd like and I will organize getting the gift cards to her and Rob.
- Allison
Sally's Update:
"As Rob Muller said today to our friends, “I highly recommend if you are going to have a disaster on the home front to be looking out at a national park when it happens.” This really was so perspective getting, and also just wonderful to go onto have, even after learning of the fire, an amazing week at Zion, Bryce and Death Valley with Ben Muller Elena Muller Marion Muller.
So here is the situation:
- The fire started on the third floor balcony of our apartment building. Still under investigation. Only two of the families were home the morning of the fire and they and their pets all got out –the fire caused a loud explosion which, while scary, had the effect of alarming people and getting them up and out safely.
- Nala was with Abby, our pet sitter, and thankfully they’d left on Christmas Eve day to go to her parents for Christmas on Chicago’s South Side. Nala then stayed all week with Abby/her family.
- The top floor (third) of our apartment was badly burned (basically destroyed) by the fire, which was very hot and very fast.
- Our floor (second) was primarily impacted by pretty massive smoke damage and water to some degree.
- The building will need to be refurbished/rebuilt and this will take months.
- We are now living at the Best Western in a small suite near our Wellington Avenue apartment (it’s actually very nice) and are looking simultaneously for a new apartment to rent and if we cannot find that quickly a furnished apartment for 2 to 3 months, hopefully in our neighborhood or Lincoln Park.
- Everything in the apartment (and I mean every single thing) must be treated for smoke and -- in some cases --water damage. The apartment is sort of like a hazmat site right now – with insurance adjusters and disaster mitigation folks working hard to get everything dealt with in the next 48 hours when the walls are coming down in the building. Every item is being inventoried, and categorized as “toss” or “restore.” Then it will be trashed or packed up, sent to a warehouse to be treated for smoke mitigation, and then stored until we can reclaim it. This is a GIANT undertaking and Rob is the one there overseeing all this as I am in Bethesda as of yesterday with Marion/Nala since she (Marion) had her wisdom teeth out this morning. [She’s doing fine!]
- We continue to feel unspeakably blessed that no one was hurt [or worse], and so touched by the outpouring of support and encouragement (and good advice) by friends and family far and wide. Both Rob’s colleagues at NLU and mine at UsA2 are being patient, supportive and understanding as we regain our footing; we are so grateful for that too.
- I’ll do another update when we have more information about our whereabouts.
- Thank you again and with so much gratitude for your support.
XOXO
Organizer and beneficiary
Allie Signorelli
Organizer
Arlington, VA
Sally Sachar
Beneficiary