Wakefield House Fire Recovery

Hi... My name is Sonya Wakefield.

At the time of the fire, my husband and I were completing last-minute errands to prepare a Thanksgiving meal and further prep our home for the upcoming holiday season.

My husband and I have ten children. From the youngest being one year old and the oldest being 19, all my children were home, and my oldest daughter witnessed the fire ablaze from underneath our bedroom door. While nearly 10 minutes away from home at the store, my daughter expressed her call to 911 and then immediately was able to contact my husband and me. When rushing home, the local fire department was already dousing our home with water. My children were taken across the street unharmed, where my husband and I met them with the outpouring of support from nearby neighbors. Later, a local service group, American Red Cross, comforted us. This experience nearly felt dream-like, as if this situation wasn’t our reality, but it was more than real! I cannot imagine our husband and me losing our children to any traumatic or worldly tragedy—yet, we, as a family, remain thankful to be safe together again.

What we call our home is no longer safe to remain in, and we need to move forward together in search of another. We were able to retain some items from my children’s bedrooms, but my bedroom was destroyed. As the local fire department expressed, our home is uninhabitable due to fire smog, electrical uncertainty, and interior first-floor and second-floor ceiling and wall damage related to water extinguishing the fire.

As most of my colleagues, family and friends know, it takes a village to raise a family. During this time, equally, it is most important for me to express our gratitude for everyone’s thoughts and prayers while we ask for your help to support our family after being displaced by the fire. Additionally, we will be grateful for any support you are willing to help with, whether it be information about local resources or providing services that may address our situation. For our family’s sake, this fundraiser will aid in addressing replacing items for living such as clothing or other needs, temporary shelter and traveling expenses, and relocating into a new home.

Please keep us in your prayers.