Community rallies behind Snow Shoe residents after ‘devastating’ New Year’s fire
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Community members are working to help a Snow Shoe couple following a chimney fire.
- So far, a GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $7,200.
- Snow Shoe’s fire chief said the home, which was rented, could be restored.
Community members are rallying around Snow Shoe residents who were recently displaced following a fire on New Year’s Day.
A GoFundMe campaign has already raised nearly $7,200 to help the couple affected by the blaze at 151 Birch Run Road. Cheyenne Lutz, who started the fundraiser, said the money would help her sister and her sister’s boyfriend cover medical bills for their dogs who were in the home when the fire broke out and address “the overwhelming task of starting over.”
Lutz, who lives in Danville, said community members have offered to donate clothes, organize bake sales and more to help the couple. The support arrives as the “devastating” house fire produced an “unimaginable loss” in a matter of moments, Lutz wrote online.
“Even people I work with all the way down here were donating, and they’ve never even met my sister,” Lutz told the Centre Daily Times. “It’s been amazing seeing the community come around for them. In such a devastating time, people can be just so kind.”
Though there were no injuries to residents or firefighters, two of the couple’s dogs were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation. One of the dogs has since died, while the other is recovering alongside their third dog, who was not hospitalized.
The Snow Shoe Fire Company responded on New Year’s Day after receiving calls for a “pretty obvious” chimney fire, chief Beau Martin said. The volunteer fire company received assistance from Pine Glen, Milesburg, Bellefonte and Morrisdale’s fire companies.
“The fire started in the flue, either due to the flue being old or got too hot and cracked,” Martin said. “It allowed the fire to get through the blocks and get into the side structure, which then just starting running the exterior wall and up the flue.”
Martin said the fire was under control after about an hour.
“To get it under control in that time, the crews did a phenomenal job,” Martin said.
Though the home sustained significant damage from the fire, Martin said the property can likely be salvaged following renovations. Lutz’s sister and her sister’s boyfriend were renting the apartment there without renter’s insurance, she said.
You can find the GoFundMe campaign by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/mtgtp-help-amanda-rebuild-after-devastating-fire.
The Centre County community also recently rallied around residents displaced after a Dec. 26 apartment building fire in Bellefonte. Two members of the Undine and Logan fire companies were affected, with other local fire companies collecting gift cards, monetary donations and clothing, and GoFundMe campaigns raising thousands of dollars.
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