my sister in law’s house burned down.

Posted bycasey coombsPosted indepression, Too lazy to label.

I’ve used this blog for a lot.

Let me tell you I never thought I’d be using it for this purpose.

My sister in law’s house burned down.

They have three little kids. My niece and nephews.

The live in St. George, Utah. Thank you to those of you who have already mobilized on their behalf.

A facebook page has been set up with a Wells Fargo account number and a bake sale is scheduled for this Saturday.

For now, besides prayers and emotional eating, this is all I know how to do.

Their boys are 6 and 4, their daughter is almost 2.

If you can be of any help with anything at all, even if it’s a toothbrush, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will get you in touch with the right people.

Thank you for anything, this is a lot different when it’s actually happening to someone you know and love.

(Everyone is fine as far as I know, the cause of the fire is unknown as of now but it originated in the attic Saturday night.)

56 thoughts on “my sister in law’s house burned down.”

  6. Oh how terrible! I have loads of girls 2T and 3T clothes I could send but I don’t know if it makes sense to send them from here… will donate something this week.

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  8. Did they lose everything? Do they need clothing? I have a friend who runs a consignment store and could put together a box of clothes for everyone today with sizes and get it in the mail. Send me an email if you think the family could use this.

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  9. Oh my god… this is horrible. I am so, so sad to hear this news, but so happy that everyone is safe.

    I’m not close – in the Boston area – but please let me know what I can do. Care package for the kids maybe?

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  12. Good gravy, I LIVE IN ST GEORGE! Please tell me what I can do. Do they need baked goods for the bake sale? I’m sure they have friends and neighbors helping, but I am ready and willing to do what I can!

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  13. I have tons of girl’s clothes anywhere from 18 mos to 2T I can send her + all kinds of toys, books, games, etc! Just give me an address to mail them and I’ll see what I can do. Many thoughts, prayers, & warm wishes going out to your family right now.

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  14. This same thing happened to a friend of ours around Christmastime last year. SO sad but also a great time to feel the love of family, friends, community and even strangers. We’re all in this together! Let’s hear it for beautiful new beginnings!!! On my way to donate now:).

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  16. Deeply sorry for what your extended family is going through. I have girls’ clothing, coats, and shoes I can send out ASAP. Just give me an address and it is there. I would also like to send the children some books, pjs and a teddy….Also, does your sis-in-law need clothes?
    I will be sending prayers for strength and patience as they pick up the pieces.

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  18. Shoes, toys, food, general household stuff..what can we do?

    I’ve heard of people going to Target after a house fire and doing a “wedding registry” that people could purchase off of and have it shipped to them. Is that something that’d work?

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  22. I closed my brick and mortar boutique in Feb and have TONS of Fall clothes for both boys and girls… I tweeted at you… I’d like to send them some so they have brand spankin’ new clothes to start school in. Reach out to me!

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  24. I work in insurance. Tell them to get on the phone with their insurer right now and tell them they need an advance on their additional living expenses coverage. This is automatically included on most policies up to 10-20% of their building coverage. Tell them to offer to send photos if the insurer balks. Tell them to insist that the insurer overnight it (they’ll need a physical address like work or something). If the insurer won’t do it, tell them to call their agent and complain, and insist that the agent issue them an advance or call the carrier on their behalf.

    This is the best, fastest way for them to get money to pay for a hotel room, etc. Tell them to save all their receipts for hotels, eating out, etc.

    If they had decent insurance, their stuff will be paid for. But it’s a traumatic experience, and insurance can’t pay to replace memories and photos.

    Tell them to walk with their adjuster when he inspects the claim.

    I write on ehow and I have some articles about insurance claims:
    http://www.ehow.com/how_5078313_talk-insurance-adjuster.html
    http://www.ehow.com/how_5078269_make-insurance-claim.html

    I’m not trying to self-promote, this is just the best advice I have already written out. I’m kind of a dork for insurance.

    Most people’s first experience dealing with their insurance is under the worst possible circumstances, when they’re traumatized, and a little knowledge can go a long way. If you, your sister, or her husband have any questions about the claims process or what her policy covers, please feel free to e-mail me and I’ll be happy to look over their policy and give them whatever advice I can.

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  25. Sorry, I’m a fixer when it comes to responding to bad things. I also meant to say that I’m glad everyone is physically OK, and your sister’s family will be in my thoughts.

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  26. I see you have a lot of offers of clothes, but I saw mostly girl clothes. If you are still in need of boy clothes, let me know. They are nice, brand named clothes I’ve been keeping for the resale shop but am willing to part with them for a family in need. Also, I’m in Anderson, IN, so I don’t know if the shipping process would be fast enough to fill their needs immediately. Just let me know!

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  28. That is good to hear everyone was okay. How terrible.

    I wish I could have donated more, but I gave what I could for now. I hope they were able to salvage some of their things. I think losing so much in a house fire is one of my biggest fears.

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  29. Casey! You better email me right now Girl because this house is down the street from us!!! Matt SAW the fire engines, etc. on Sunday when he was at a church meeting and we all drove past the house last night. Please let us know what we can do!

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  31. I can send a toiletries care package too — just let me know where to send it. I’m glad everyone is okay. Hopefully some of their photos and sentimental items will be salvageable since it looks like the fire itself was mostly up in the attic/roof.

    If they do find photos or things they want to save that are wet, they can put them in a freezer until they can take them to someplace like ServPro to have them freeze dried and vacuumed…they have special machines for that. Supposedly you can’t tell it was ever wet.

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  34. What size does your niece wear? I was about to take a load of little girl clothes to donate, but i can just send them to Utah instead.

    Prayers going out to them.

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  35. WAY TO GO, INTERNET! Wow, people are fabulous. I have no girl clothes or boy clothes that size, but surely there’s something we can share. Toiletries perhaps? Keep us posted. Prayers for all those involved!

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  36. So sorry to hear this. Glad that no one was hurt. Everything else can be replaced eventually but babies and people can’t.

    I hate that this happened to your sister.

    I may have some boy stuff depending on their sizes that I can ship out…just let me know how! I can get something out pretty quickly…Gives me a good excuse to clean out the closets.

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  37. I am so so sorry 😦 If there is anything I can do – please let me know – what items do they need? Should I just donate money? I will check out the facebook page tonight when I get home.

    My heart breaks for them.

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  46. Oh, Casey, that’s so horrible. I would love to send some clothes and toys to the kids and maybe some gently used clothes for the mom if she’s close to my size. Let me know what I can do.

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  49. I’m so sorry to hear this. I love the way people are mobilizing around them so quickly, though. I read something on the facebook page about getting a company like SERVPRO to help with fire/water damage. If they’d like to look into that further, my husband has a close relationship with the branch here in Indy. We’d be happy to get in touch with them and see how they might be able to use their resources out there to help.

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