A fire that tore through the interior of an Aldergrove house on July 23rd left a single mom and her 12-year-old daughter starting over 鈥渇rom scratch,鈥� without their beloved cat Layla, and all of their belongings.
That鈥檚 according to a GoFundMe campaign that described what happened early on a Sunday morning at the house in the 27100-block of 35th Avenue.
鈥淚 woke up at 5:30 a.m.,鈥� Alicia Kafka wrote, 鈥渂linded and choking on smoke, it was almost as if someone shook me awake.鈥�
She thought she was dreaming at first, 鈥渂ut I realized what was happening and I screamed for my daughter to wake up while I quickly pushed out the plexi barrier above the air conditioner so I could take a breath and yell for help.鈥�
They managed to get outside, and tried to wake up the tenants downstairs.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 answer so I smashed their window in and screamed for them to wake up,鈥� Kafka recalled.
鈥淓veryone got out alive, but our cat clawed my daughter and got away. We thought that she had just gone under the porch to hide where she normally would go when she got out, but it turns out she went back into the house. We are heartbroken for our sweet girl.鈥�
Kafka, who used to be employed in the film industry as a script supervisor, has been off work since October due to ill health.
She said she was earning 鈥渁 little bit of a living again, through graphic design, and social media marketing, which was my previous career.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e also started the process of going back to school.鈥�
Kafka said the fire department gave them a hotel for a few nights, and money for some necessities.
鈥淲e do have a new home that we were already planning to move into, only now we don鈥檛 have any belongings,鈥漵he shared.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Aldergrove house fire under investigation
According to archived online listings from when the house was on the market, the three-storey 3442 square foot single family home was built in 2008.
It was described as having six bedrooms and 4.25 bathrooms with an attached garage on a 5,000 sq ft lot.
Acting 91原创 assistant fire chief Ken Strand said the damage from the fire was likely beyond repair.
As of Sunday, July 30, the 鈥� had generated $6,325 toward a $10,000 target.
Kafka said the funds would 鈥渁t least get us some beds and replace the computer so I have a way to do my school work and continue to earn an income. I also lost the equipment that I use to do my job as a script supervisor and my recording equipment.鈥�
READ ALSO: North 91原创 townhouse fire forces 11 people from their homes
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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