SHEBOYGAN — The emotions were still raw for the Greene family on Monday after a fire ravaged their home last week.
I spoke with grandmother Cheryl and her husband, John, after she reached out, saying she was ready to share their story and plea for community help.
"You don't know what you're going to do, you don't know where you're going to go," Cheryl choked out.
She and John live downstairs while her daughter’s family lives above.
The fire started in the upstairs unit on Thursday afternoon. Their soon-to-be son-in-law was the only other person home at the time.
"He knocked on the door and said, 'Mom, I smell smoke.'"
Watch: Sheboygan family of six displaced after fire ravages home
"It was so thick. You couldn't even see in that apartment," John explained in the stairwell. "When I tried to breathe, it just burned my lungs."
The charred smell was still very apparent when I visited the home.
Cheryl said she recalls spotting a fire truck responding to another call just around the corner. John said he raced out the door to flag it down.
"It was just very fortunate that they happened to be there."
Everyone made it out safely, including their pets. But nothing was salvageable from the upstairs unit.
"When the fire department opened the door, it just came bursting out at the firefighter," Cheryl noted.
According to the Sheboygan Fire Department report, the house suffered about $75,000 worth of damage.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Greenes say their 8-year-old granddaughter took it the hardest when she came home from school that afternoon.
"She stood up there crying, and she says, 'Grandma, I grew up in this house,'" Cheryl said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "For a little girl to lose everything…"
Now, Cheryl and John must vacate their home of 13 years. The fire and water damage are too great.
"These weren't even here two days ago," she said, pointing at long cracks in her kitchen ceiling. "And that's what the landlord's concerned about…our safety, that it doesn't collapse on us."
The family received some monetary help from the Red Cross, but the donated funds have already run out. Hotel costs and takeout have eaten up the majority of it.
"We're not young people to be starting over like this."
There's no clear vision for the future, but the Greenes are sticking together while trying to pick up the pieces.
"We made it our home," Cheryl said, hugging her husband. "We'll do it again."
If you'd like to help the family, visit their GoFundMe page at gofundme.com.
