Orange City, IA
Other
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Smit Fire Recovery Fund
Rebuilding Our Lives: The Smit Family House Fire Recovery Fund
Our lives changed forever on November 2, 2025, when a devastating house fire left us with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Our home, which held so many memories for our family of six, was declared a total loss.
The months since the fire have been an exhausting uphill battle. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the house sat untouched for nearly two months while we waited for help to arrive. Even now, the process is painfully slow—the cleaning crew is still working to process the wreckage, and because they deemed virtually everything in our home unsalvageable, we lost most of everything and were unable to save much of anything. We are still waiting for contractors to even begin the actual rebuilding process, and we have recently learned that our foundation requires significant repairs, adding unexpected costs to an already overwhelming situation.
The financial strain has been compounded by severe life challenges. My husband was laid off for four months following the fire, and I have been unable to work as I provide full-time care for our 12-year-old child, who was directly involved in the fire and requires intensive, ongoing therapy. We have faced significant travel expenses to ensure our child receives the mental health support they need.
Insurance has been incredibly slow and even difficult to work with at times. We have not been reimbursed for our initial hotel stays or the expenses incurred over these past few months.
While we are currently in temporary housing, the costs are mounting rapidly. Between food, medical bills, utilities that insurance doesn't cover, and our ongoing mortgage payments, our resources are quickly becoming exhausted.
Because the reconstruction process has been delayed, we now have to remain in temporary housing for much longer than originally anticipated. Every extra month in temporary housing means more funds spent before we can even begin to think about replacing the household items we lost. We are facing a long road ahead over the next year to get back on our feet and eventually make our house a home again.
We are reaching out to family, friends, and our community during this incredibly vulnerable time. FreeFunder allows you to make a donation to our family for free, ensuring that we receive 100% of the funds to put toward our recovery.
Thank you so much for considering a donation to help us navigate this crisis. If you are unable to donate at this time, please consider sharing this fundraiser to help us reach more people. Your support means the world to our family.
❤️ Rebecca and Brent Smit
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