Families lose everything after houses catch fire in Upland
Family out-of-town when house catches fire in Upland
Two families in Delaware County lost everything when their homes went up in flames Sunday morning.
UPLAND, Pa. - The American Red Cross is helping two families in Delaware County who lost everything when their homes went up in flames Sunday morning.
The Upland Fire Chief, Jeff Hill, says the call came in just before 10 a.m. Sunday and the flames quickly spread to two alarms, with 75 firefighters coming to battle the blaze.
What they're saying:
"There was a lot of smoke in the area. Yeah, it was pretty heavy," said Pastor Bryan McGrouty, who was serving free breakfast to those in need at his church just as the fire started.
"And then we heard the sirens, and there was a lot of smoke, and it was kind of filling the whole neighborhood," McGrouty added.
Brooke and Dax Wolhafe and their five-year-old son were out of town when their neighbor called.
"Your house is on fire, you need to get out. We’re like, we’re not there, and she said within seconds the whole house was on fire," said Brooke Wolhafe, a fire victim.
In seconds, their house on 7th Street and the one next door went up in flames, and 16 different fire departments came to help.
The fire chief says one neighbor suffered a minor burn, and a dog and pet snake were rescued.
"I mean, we lost everything, but everything there can be replaced ten times over. My husband and my son cannot be ever, so I’m just grateful we weren’t there," Brooke said.
"Gratitude that we weren’t there and everybody's safe. You know, things can be replaced," added Dax.
What's next:
The Fire Marshal is still investigating exactly how this fire started.
For now, Dax and Brooke say they’re overwhelmed by all the love and support.
"People stopping by and throwing cash in our pocket, dropping off clothes, dropping off toys. My son has probably 37 pairs of pajamas to wear that he can choose from tonight because he loves pajamas, and they’re wonderful," Brooke shared.
And they just want to thank everyone who has reached out in their time of need.
"I never expected something like this to happen, and you know within seconds people were calling, 'What can we do?' And you know it’s nice to see that the good you put out in the world comes back when you need it," Brooke said.
What you can do:
There is a GoFundMe to help the families if you’d like to donate. A second GoFundMe was also created.