Support Needed for Family After Philly Fire Tragedy

Hello!

On Sunday, February 23rd around 2:30 AM our family woke to dense smoke in our home and the sound of banging on the door. Our next door neighbor’s house caught fire in the night and was completely aflame by the time anyone realized what was happening. My two co-parents, my mother-in-law, my child, myself, and my dog escaped the house through a haze of smoke. As we were leaving the house I saw that flames were bursting forth from the neighbor’s door. Other neighbors were calling 911 in that moment; they also woke to smoke in their home.

We ran down the street with no shoes and no phones. When the fire department arrived I tried to alert them about the two cats in our home, but the fire was so out of control that there was no time to attend to them. We ran down the block and found refuge in another neighbors’ home, then worked on finding an inhaler for Meg and a couple of things for our kid. The neighbor whose house caught fire died in her home. After the fire was contained we got news from an emergency vet that someone had brought in our cat Jello; unfortunately, his injuries were so severe that we requested they end his life preserving treatment. I was alerted by the firefighters that my cat Meowmmar died in the basement from smoke inhalation.

We have found temporary housing with some incredibly generous people. Neighbors, friends, and family have been so supportive, providing toys and clothes for our child, clothes and necessities for the adults, meals, and a lot of comfort.

We moved to Philadelphia last summer looking for more support for our kid and more opportunity for ourselves as queer parents, as trans people, as working class activists. I already love Philadelphia fiercely, specifically because of the incredibly kind and unique people who live here. Our home, which many people helped us to move into only seven months ago, is uninhabitable. Although the fire did not spread to our house, the smoke and soot damage is severe and has destroyed many of our possessions. The fire department was forced to break the basement windows to get the smoke out. There is water damage on every floor because a fire hose needed to shoved through the roof and water blasted through the entire structure of the neighbor’s house. We rented this place, but it was our home. We do not have renter’s insurance. We are currently searching for new housing and replacing many of our possessions while trying to keep the day-to-day of parenthood on an even keel. We all work and have to continue to do that while dealing with this disaster.

It has been difficult for us to make the decision to ask people for money. However, many folks have offered to come out this weekend to help us salvage what we can from our home. We need to purchase respirators and tyvek suits to keep everyone safe from the toxins in the house. We need cleaning supplies, bins to store our things in and to contain the smell, fees for a storage unit, and money to replace everyone’s beds and some other necessary furniture. A lot of our tech like computers will need to be replaced. We hope that much of our clothing and personal possessions will be able to be cleaned, but that may also add up in costs. We are likely going to need chest x-rays, as well, due to the smoke inhalation. If there are things you can donate, that is deeply appreciated, but money also helps.

We are so indebted to friends, family, and neighbors who have showed out for us in the past several days. From where I am standing, the road ahead appears treacherous. Every act of support has deeply impacted my belief that we will be okay.