On the evening of February 6th, I was home alone with my little sister and 3 dogs when our stove caught fire. At the time the fire started, my sister and I were in the front of the house, unaware of what was going on because neither of us had used the stove since we were ordering snacks.

As I made my way to my room, which is located next to the kitchen, I saw the flames and tried to move the pots away from the stove. However, in the process of doing so, the fire grew larger and very quickly caught onto my pajama pants, which then went up in flames. I tried my best to run out of the house into the snow, but I couldn’t get the door unlocked quickly enough because I was on fire. I ran into the bathroom, and my sister heard the commotion and quickly came to try and help. But when we finally were able to get the fire off of me, our living room went up in flames along with a gas can and propane tank, which I quickly threw outside into the snow to avoid them blowing up, as my priority was making sure my sister got out safely.

In the midst of all of this happening, the fire in the kitchen grew rapidly, setting the walls and furniture on fire, making it impossible for me to get into my room and get my dogs out, leaving me no choice but to get my sister and get out of the house. Once I got my sister out of the house, we called 911, and the fire department came. They were only able to save 1 of the 3 dogs and rendered our home unlivable.

I’m currently in the hospital and won’t be able to walk for at least 3 months without crutches, and I have to undergo surgery on February 12th. Once I get discharged, I will have no home to go back to. I have no clothes or properties other than my 1 dog and my phone. I’m asking for help so I can get a room until I have a chance to recover, get back into work, and move into my college dorm. For more details and in-depth information, you can reach me by my cell phone at (803) [phone redacted]. All donations are greatly appreciated!