A fundraising campaign has been set up to help an Abbotsford family whose home was damaged in a serious fire on June 6 at the corner of Marshall and Whatcom roads.
Corinne and Brian Zacharias, their six-month-old baby and two other people in the home only had minutes to escape when the blaze broke out at about 1 a.m. Their house suffered extensive damage and they lost all their personal belongings. Their beloved family cat is also still missing.
A GoFundMe account has now been set up by friends of Corinne’s to assist the couple with interim costs while they rebuild their lives.
Corinne, a postal worker who is currently on maternity leave, is part of an adult street-jazz dance group through Abbotsford’s Dance in Motion.
Heidi Turner, who dances with Corinne and has known her for about six years, wrote up the campaign, but it was driven by all the dancers.
“We wanted to do something to help her and Brian out during an incredibly stressful time,” Turner said.
The couple, who own the home, had insurance, but Turner said there are many immediate costs that their friends wanted to help them with.
“Just because you lose everything in a fire doesn’t mean bills stop coming in, and there are urgent items that need to be bought just to continue daily life.”
Brian is a software engineer, but he works from home and lost his computers in the fire. This means he has no way to earn an income until the computers are replaced.
There was also a renter who lived in their basement, and Turner said any additional money raised beyond what Corinne and Brian can use will go to assist that person.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
For more information, search “Help Family Recover from Fire” at gofundme.com.