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The fire, which happened on Wednesday, Jan. 24 in Putnam County at a residence in Mahopac on Old Bullet Hole Road, left the home completely destroyed following a tough battle that required firefighters to improvise and use a water source a mile away.
The blaze was a "life-changing experience" for the home's occupants, according to Alicea Simpson, who started a GoFundMe fundraiser on behalf of her family to raise money to help them rebuild.
"We stood in front of our dream home and watched flames rip through each and every room," Simpson wrote on the fundraiser page, adding, "With everything we worked so hard for in it."
Simpson and her husband, a Marine Corps veteran and retired law enforcement officer, moved to Mahopac from the Bronx in 2017 along with their five children for a better life.
"We saw a promising future despite what was going on in the world," Simpson wrote, continuing, "Our life was great...We were dedicated."
Following the blaze though, the family and their five children, aged 19, 17, 15, 7, and 5, are now left without the home that brought them all together.
"This experience caused our world to collapse," Simpson wrote.
Those wishing to donate to the fundraiser can do so by clicking here.
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