GoFundMe Page Set Up to Help Latest House Fire Victims

RIO GRANDE – A Sunday evening fire in Rio Grande has left a family of four without a place to stay and any possessions.
Firefighters were called to the former Dutchman’s Inn, at 1077 Route 47, Rio Grande, March 19, at around 6 p.m., for a fire that began in the kitchen area. 
No one was injured in the fire, but the heat, smoke, and water used to put out the fire damaged almost all the personal belongings in the home, according to Robert Stacy, a friend of the residents.
Stacy has started a GoFundMe page to help Savanna Flynn, Dylan McElfresh, and their two children, Penelope and Parkland.
“I am trying to raise funds to help a family who are very close friends of ours,” Stacy said on the GoFundMe page. “They just lost almost everything in an apartment fire. Thankfully, they are all OK and in good health. But, unfortunately, they are now homeless, and almost everything they own was destroyed in the fire.”
Flynn, speaking March 21, said what they recovered was soot damaged, including their dog, Beanie. She said the dog was able to escape when the firefighters broke down the front door, but the 2-year-old lab-pit mix showed up about 45 minutes later covered in soot. 
Ironically, Flynn said they had taken the dog to keep it safe from its mother and father, who had been biting it. 
She said she did recover some things but if the smoke smell won’t wash out, they will have to be discarded. She said she was fortunate to recover their important documents. 
Stacy said the children’s mother is “kind of an adopted daughter” to him and his wife. He said the family had only settled into their place a month or a month and a half ago and had a very hard time finding a place to live.
Stacy said the family had gone to McElfresh’s grandmother’s house for dinner, and one of them went home to check on the dog. It appears the dog might have gotten out of the crate and was trying to get something off the stove when the fire started.
“They believe the dog might have kicked the stove on,” Stacy said. “We’re just glad it didn’t happen in the middle of the night.”
“I kept going back to let him out to use the bathroom,” Flynn said.
She said the dog kept escaping from the crate and they believe he somehow caused the burner to be turned on. When they returned home, there were firetrucks, ladders up to their windows, and about 30 firefighters outside their home.
Stacy said the family went to stay with McElfresh’s grandmother for a time, and he said they might end up at his house, as well. He said they are looking for donations through the GoFundMe page with a goal amount of $10,000 with just under $2,000 collected by March 21. 
They are also looking for donated items, including clothes for a 4-year-old girl and 1-year-old girl, and a new home to rent.
“I ask that you please help this young family get back on their feet,” Stacy said on the GoFundMe page.
He said all the funds collected would go directly to the family to support them and to find another apartment. Anyone interested in donating may go to the GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/69d1054e.
“We’ve already been reached by so many people offering things for us and the girls and saying they are glad we are all OK,” Flynn said. 
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.