CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The community is coming together to help a Summerhill family rebuild after losing everything Saturday morning in a house fire.
On June 25 around 4:30 a.m., multiple crews were called to Cheyanne Street in Summerhill Township for a fire that had started on the front porch of the home. It took around an hour and a half to put out, according to Summerhill Township Volunteer Fire Company Fire Chief Brian Hendrickson.
Kaysie McCafee stood across the street, watching her entire home go up in flames. After smelling smoke, she and her family were able to make it out safely within minutes of the floor collapsing. They lost everything, including three cats.
“A lot of people say, you know, it is just stuff, it can be replaced,” McCafee said. “I am so thankful that myself and my family got out unhurt, but this was our whole lives. Every single thing we owned. We don’t even have shoes.”
A shell of a home is all that remains of the house. McCafee said they are still in shock.
“I don’t feel like it is real, to be honest,” she said. “Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Zoe Hughes said if it weren’t for McCafee, then they would all be dead.
“She smelled it from the fan and told us to get out,” Hughes said. “We all ran, I don’t even remember coming down the steps.”
McCafee said they’re heartbroken their cats didn’t survive.
“We lost all three of our cats,” she said. “They were our family, too.”
In the aftermath, the family is left with nothing. However, they have the community behind them. A GoFundMe was created to help the family during this hard time.
If you’d like to help donate to the family, you can do so by clicking here. You can also reach out to McCafee on Facebook at Kaysie Lynette and her sister Alyssa Reed to help with clothing donations. Additionally, you can visit their Amazon wishlist.
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“Thank you isn’t enough,” McCafee said. “It’s just, I can’t even think straight at this point. There are so many people just coming out of the woodwork that are like, ‘what can I do?'”
As the family looks to rebuild, they’re thankful for all the support, but more importantly, they’re thankful to be alive.
The cause of the fire is currently being investigated. All they know right now is that it started on the front porch.