PLUM, Pa. — A family is picking up the pieces after flames gutted the inside of their house and destroyed most of their baby’s items just weeks after she was born.
Two weeks after Dawn Perez’s granddaughter was born, the baby girl and her parents are out of their Plum home after a fire there earlier this week.
There is a hole in the deck where flames made their way through and spread to the home.
The family said investigators think that the fire may have started from the grill.
“It was heart-wrenching. Cause I worry about her. Postpartum is hard enough on women,” said Dawn Perez.
Smoke detectors alerted the family of three to the fire, and when they made it out, they walked a few doors down to Perez’s house.
“My maternal instincts kicked in and I just wanted to make sure she had everything she needed, the baby needed, that the baby was safe,” said Perez.
Photos from the Monroeville Fire Department Company 4 shared a photo of the fire, where you can see most of the flames are toward the back of the home.
The inside of the home was also badly damaged. All of their brand-new baby items were also lost.
“The baby’s bassinet, the swing, and the high chair...that was all in the living room area, so that’s all gone. All the clothes,” said Perez.
Since the fire, the Plum community has stepped up with neighbors, and even strangers, donating to the family.
“People who have had babies in the past couple of years have brought things down to them for immediate use, a car seat, a bassinet, a bouncer, diapers, wipes,” said Perez. “I can’t believe some of the things we have received over the last couple of days.“
With all of the loss, Perez is most grateful that her family wasn’t hurt.
“Those items can be replaced. Everything we needed was out of the house. They were there, they were safe,” said
If you’d like to help the family, there is a link to their GoFundMe link set up. Click here to donate.
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