A donation drive was held Monday night for the families who lost everything in a devastating house fire in the Baltic section of Sprague on Friday night.
A donation drive was held Monday night for the families who lost everything in a devastating house fire in the Baltic section of Sprague on Friday night.
The Sprague Fire Department hosted the drive where a steady stream of people dropped off clothing, shoes, food and household items.
“Obviously, [the families] are in need of everything. So, I felt like the more opportunity we gave to people to give, the better that they would make out,” said Katie Currier, a volunteer with the department. “We did have people come all the way from Mansfield already, and somebody from Bristol did reach out to us this afternoon. So people truly are coming from all around the state.”
Donations filled the tables inside the fire department as volunteers sorted sizes and children’s items.
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“You don’t really expect so much of a community presence until something happens, and it’s just great to see everybody collectively come together,” said Jason Ouimette, a volunteer with the fire department.
The fire tore through the home on West Main Street around 7 p.m. on Friday and wasn’t under control until the early morning hours.
Thankfully, everyone made it out OK, but the home is now a pile of rubble. The homeowner and renters did not have insurance, the fire department said.
“My husband and I were in our bedroom, and we heard yelling outside, and all of a sudden we heard, ‘We need help’ and my husband and I just flew out of the house,” said Becky Jimenez, a next-door neighbor. “Very quickly, my husband thought to grab a ladder, just because there were two kids up on the third floor, grabbed the ladder, and helped to assist the children out of the house. I just grabbed the babies, and said, everybody to my house!”
One of the families displaced has seven children ranging in age from 2 to 13.
Jimenez is now raising money for the homeowner, and Morgan Crawford, a schoolteacher, is raising money for the family with seven children. She teaches one of them.
“I live very close to them as well so I was at the scene and we were very devastated to see what had happened,” she said. “They have a very big family, they’re very involved in the community.”
Her fundraiser has raised well over her goal of $10,000.
“A lot of people have donated so far, we’re up to like almost $16,000 for them, which has been amazing,” Crawford said. “To see the community involved at this caliber has been really amazing, and the family really appreciates it, too.”
The fire department is still accepting donations.
“It’s very heartwarming. It is kind of emotional,” Currier added. “I couldn’t believe the amount of support from the community. It started before the fire was even out. It’s amazing. It truly lets you know that there really still are good people around.”
