Courtesy of Maria Rodriguez via GoFundMe
Key Points
- A lightning strike caused a fire on Sept. 9 that left an Apopka family's home uninhabitable and destroyed most of their belongings.
- The family of five is temporarily staying with the grandmother while searching for permanent housing in Apopka.
- Maria Rodriguez started a GoFundMe campaign with a $9,000 goal to help replace essentials and rebuild their lives; $6,451 has been raised so far.
An Apopka family of five is raising money to find a new home after a lightning strike sparked a fire that left their residence uninhabitable and destroyed most of their belongings.
The fire occurred around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 at a home off Rock Springs Road. City spokesperson Steven Montiero confirmed that the Apopka Fire Department determined the fire was caused by lightning. The residence was deemed uninhabitable, and the American Red Cross was contacted to assist the displaced family, Montiero said.
In an interview, Maria Rodriguez said she was at work when her daughter called to say a neighbor had reported smoke coming from the house. Rodriguez rushed home and found firefighters, police and emergency vehicles already at the scene.
“Thankfully, nobody else was at the house at the time,” Rodriguez said.
Her husband was at work, and their three children were with Rodriguez’s mother. A neighbor who heard the family’s dog barking broke a bedroom window and rescued the animal.
Rodriguez said neighbors told her they had heard and felt the lightning strike. Firefighters later told her that the flames had spread throughout the attic and that they could not save the house.
The family recovered some photographs, two Bibles and some clothing. Most of their other belongings were ruined by the fire, water and the collapse of portions of the ceiling, Rodriguez said.
“There was like eight inches of water in the house,” she said. “We couldn’t go in until after the whole situation.”
Rodriguez, her husband and their children are staying with her mother in Apopka while searching for permanent housing.
Family members, neighbors, donors and the children’s schools have provided clothes, toiletries and other necessities. Rodriguez said the family’s greatest remaining need is a place to live.
“Right now, what I’m trying to look for is a new home for us to get established again, mainly for my kids,” she said.
Rodriguez created a GoFundMe campaign with a $9,000 goal to help the family replace clothing, furniture and household necessities and begin rebuilding their lives. As of midday Wednesday, 63 donors had contributed $6,451.
“We never imagined that we would find ourselves in a position where we would need to ask others for help,” Rodriguez wrote on the page. “We are doing everything we can to get through this, but the financial burden of losing a home and nearly everything inside it is more than we can manage alone.”