A local family is striving to get back on their feet after losing everything in a house fire
A local family is striving to get back on their feet after losing everything in a house fire.
"I'm trying to get my kids just back into a normal routine," says Bryan O'Neil, the resident of the burned down home. "My youngest, they both have autism; the youngest is nonverbal. When the routine is thrown out of whack, she has a tough time, and right now, she's having a hard time."
Even after losing everything, the O'Neils were surprisingly optimistic. They were shocked but feeling the support from family and community. The fire happened Wednesday, May 17th, around 3 pm.
One of the two buildings on the lot is wholly destroyed.
Oniel says the fire started in his daughter's room and spread throughout the house. He says he lost everything, his furniture, clothes for him and his two children, and his mother's Mustang completely burned.
The family says material things can be repurchased, and they are happy no one was hurt. Unfortunately, one of their cats died in the fire.
O'Neil's room housed multiple guitars, one even signed by Jimi Hendrix's brother.
The fire reached parts of their neighbor's backyard.
"Though the wind picked up and got it off into the vegetation, the vegetation meaning it's still on the property," says James Brakebill, the Morongo Valley Fire Cheif. "Medic Engine 461 was first on the scene! Their primary responsibility was to make sure that people were out of the house and to start protecting the adjacent structures because of the property. So there were two structures on the property. I had engine 20 Beaumont banning that was CalFire. I had engine 36 and engine 37 from CalFire. And there they came up from Desert Hot Springs. I also had medic engine 41, And that was from San Bernardino County. I also had a water tender 61 from Morongo Valley and a water tender 44 from San Bernardino County Fire come from Twentynine Palms. I also had two additional brush engines from Yucca Valley: brush engines 3556 and 3557." He says this incident took all hands on deck.
First responders mark the building as unsafe, and no one can enter. The O'Neils are displaced and staying with relatives. They were renting their home and did not have insurance.
The family takes it one day at a time and is very thankful to the Morongo Valley fire department and the community for the donated clothes and toys.
Fundraiser Link: https://gofund.me/f50af74a
Video links: https://youtube.com/shorts/6sfX5omXl60?feature=share
https://youtu.be/TWzNDNwPfGg
