Support for Family After Devastating Fire

On Thursday afternoon June 20th one of the scariest things happened when I was home. Our house caught on fire. My twin boys who are non verbal kept banging on the window where the fire was at. When I turned to see why they were banging on the window I saw the tall flames. I immediately grabbed them away from the window, ran, & let everyone know there was a fire. Immediately called 911 and had everyone get out of the house. I stayed in the house trying to hurry and get anything important but the window had already shattered and the fire was making its way inside the home. My brain was definitely in fight or flight mode because everytime I tried to think of what to hurry up and get, my brain kept telling me get out!! I grabbed whatever I could and I got out. My poor Mia was traumatized, she was across the street at the neighbors yard crying “ my mommy!!! My mommy is still in the house!!’ When I went across the street the neighbors told her, its ok, here comes your mommy, she made it out.”

Thankful for the fire department who arrived as fast as they could and put the fire out as quickly as possible. Out of all our neighbors who stepped out to see what was going on , I am thankful to the only neighbor who not only asked if we were ok, he also welcomed my family into his home. He even bought the kids pizza and tried to distract them from what was going on. I am also Thankful for the boys teachers who have reached out, brought us food and offered to help with my babies.

So, what happened? The boys got a toy forklift for christmas, and we had it outside for them to play with. It was so hot in Arizona that day, the battery ended up catching fire. So please, if you have any toys that are battery operated or anything that has a battery don’t leave it outside in this hot heat. Even though the fire was minor, a lot of damage has been done to the home and our belongings because of the smoke & we could only grab a few things. A restoration company came out to do an estimate on all of our belongings that need to either be washed or thrown out. They said it could take weeks for everything to be washed and sanitized depending on Insurance. Fire department turned our electricity off and can’t turn it back on until the home has been inspected. Since our home has been without power for over a week, it is starting to smell. Not being in the comfort of our home, sleeping in hotel rooms has been stressful. Especially on the kids, the twins who are deaf/blind having to adjust to a new place, new surroundings; Not having a stable place to live at the moment.

Overall, it’s been an extremely stressful time, but I am thankful we are all ok and we all made it out safely. ❤️❤️