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Hope Swells For Single Mom With Teen Daughters Whose House Was Destroyed By DC Blaze

A light-sleeping visitor and a random Good Samaritan banging on the door of a DC home shouting “SMOKE” may have saved the lives of an art teacher’s family whose home was destroyed earlier this month.

The aftermath of the DC fire.

The aftermath of the DC fire.

Photo Credit: GoFundMe

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, a home belonging to Washington Yu Ying School teacher Paula Zimmerman went up in flames, claiming the life of a family dog, and left at least one hospitalized.

According to Zimmerman’s family, a their aunt happened to be staying with her on the night of the fateful fire who was woken up in the middle of the night someone randomly was pounding on the door shouting about smoke, prompting the discovery of the fire.

One dog was saved, the home was evacuated, though it was ultimately destroyed by the fast-moving two-alarm fire, which also damaged neighboring homes due to the heat of the flames, which also melted a car parked in the area.

Following the fire, Zimmerman’s community has been quick to rally to her cause, with more than $50,000 raised less than a week after her home was destroyed.

"While firefighters investigate the cause, our cousin and her two daughters, who luckily slept away that night, lost everything: clothes, school supplies, art supplies, computers, furntiture, kitchenware and all their irreplaceable keepsakes,” organizers of a GoFundMe that took off, said, noting that she is a single mother with two teen daughters.

“She is in immediate need of the basics listed above,” they continued. “On behalf of our entire family, any help you can give is appreciated.” 

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