#fire2019

Late Friday (2/22/19) evening I had a severe reaction to a new medication I was trying. Not 100% sure if it was serotonin syndrome or an allergic reaction but either way I began to convulse and my roommate had to dial 911. EMS arrived but so did Firemen. Earlier that evening we had had a fire in our fireplace. By this point it was just embers. While EMS attended to me the Firemen tried to Scoop the embers Out of the fireplace into my dogs’ water bowl. This is not proper procedure.

My mom asked them three separate times to use an extinguisher. They refused stating, “It would make a mess.” (?????) They wouldn’t use any equipment from their truck either. Now there were burning coals on the hearth and wherever else they happened to tumble beyond. While in the ER a fire started. In one of my dogs’ crate. Upon returning from the ER, we heard the fire alarms going. My dog and a good portion of the living room were on fire. We attempted to put the fire out but the extinguisher we had did not work (fault of the apartment complex). My step-dad had to throw around a lot of water. The dog who was on fire? Well, my upstairs (piece of shit) neighbor said he heard the fire alarms and my dog wailing but did absolutely fucking nothing. My partner and I searched frantically for the cats and I had to carry my other dog out, she could not walk. We rushed her and the cats to a local emergency vet who assessed their condition and told us what it would take to treat them. Her rough estimate was $2-3000 per animal. We could not afford that. I prepared to put down my dog and two of the cats. This is where my faith in humanity began to be restored. She and her team made multiple phone calls and were able to find an organization and an anonymous donor that would cover their treatment. At first they all responded well, but Sunday (2/24) afternoon my dog’s condition was rapidly declining. I made the decision to euthanize her because I could not stand to see her suffer so much for any longer than she already had. A part of me died with her and I’m still broken. The staff gave me a paw imprint and signed a card. Both dogs were cremated and I have their urns. Receiving them broke me even more. I cried while cuddling them.

It took us three days to go through and salvage/toss what we could from the apartment. We lost the majority of our furniture and clothes. We need to find a new place to live. We all need medical treatment ourselves from inhaling so much smoke and whatever other hazards lingered in the air. I lost my wallet and glasses, the latter desperately needing to be replaced. Switching all utilities and the costs incurred is another issue. We have no idea what the apartment complex will try to hold us responsible for or what money they will demand. I am beyond exhausted and ridiculously stressed. As are my family. We’re scrambling trying to figure out so many things at once. The apartment complex is trying to demand we continue to pay rent even though they haven’t offered us any other living accomodations, as SC law states.

I’m not entirely sure what other fundraising site I should use, if any, for anyone outside of FB who can/wants to donate. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Please, please, please help spread this around. We need all the help we can possibly get. Below are links to my FB fundraiser and my Paypal account. I don’t even know where to begin right now...