Vivienne and Chris's devastating Sunnyside Fire

As many of you may have seen on the news, on December 20th there was a 5 alarm fire in Sunnyside, Queens that left many people displaced and devastated. The fire started in the apartment above our apartment and we were the people who called 911 when we first noticed the smoke. We spent a good amount of time knocking on doors and alerting neighbors that there was an emergency. We suffered smoke inhalation and were treated at Mount Sinai. We helped who we could and when we absolutely had to leave, we left with just the clothes on our backs and our phones, nothing else.

The fire was started with an illegal blowtorch used on lead paint by a worker above us who also used a bucket of water instead of a fire extinguisher to attempt to put out the fire sparked by the torch. The spark ignited in the door frame where they were working and quickly spread through the space between the roof and the ceilings throughout the whole building. People stood for hours watching as nearly 200 firefighters tried to contain the fire. What wasn't destroyed by the flames was destroyed by the massive amount of water damage and smoke and debris during the process of trying to contain the fire.

I, Vivienne, am an artist and author of two popular photography books about New York City. My fiancé Chris is a recording engineer and musician with a huge body of work. We lost our bodies of work and the tools of our careers. All of my writing and photography was on hard drives, same for Chris's 20+ year catalogue of music and recording work for clients.

But most of all we lost our home, sentimental memories preserved in photos, all of the things we worked hard for, our clothing, the things we cherished.

We lost everything.

It's hard to contemplate this kind of loss and the past few days have been some of the worst and most difficult of our lives especially right before Christmas. When we are alone and have time to sit with the grief it is immense, a void that is so large that it's impossible to measure.

Both of us are mainly supporting each other through life. Any money donated will be used to secure housing, food, clothing, and life necessities while we attempt to rebuild our lives and careers.

Anything you are willing to contribute is so deeply appreciated. If you are not able to contribute at this time, we would appreciate if you could share this with your family and friends. It would mean the world to us.

Please cherish the things and people you hold dear this holiday season. Hold loved ones close, make memories that last forever and thank you for reading this and helping in any way you can.