A father and his adult son, who uses a wheelchair, managed to escape their home when it caught fire in the middle of the night. Now the family is staying in a motel.
GIG HARBOR, Wash. — A family in Gig Harbor is working to move forward and rebuild their lives after their home burned down last week.
“You need to focus on what is present. I can’t dwell on the past so if you bring it up I start crying so I can’t do that,” Gunda Meissner said.
Late at night on April 8, the Meissner family home, located on the 4400 block of 88th Avenue Northwest, burst into flames. Fire crews were forced to demolish the entire structure.
“It looks like a warzone,” Meissner said.
Meissner was away in Germany at the time, but her husband, Uwe, and adult son, Mark—who uses a wheelchair—were sleeping inside the home.
“It smelled hot at first, then it just got hotter, and hotter and smokier. And I thought something was wrong. As a quadriplegic, the worst nightmare is coming true. You’re lying in bed. I can’t move myself out of bed,” Mark said.
Both father and son managed to escape through the back door but were unable to retrieve any of their belongings.
“I’m grateful to be alive, everything else can be replaced,” Uwe said.
Now, the family is staying at a motel while searching for a wheelchair-accessible rental home.
“Everything that’s accessible rental wise, they say it’s wheelchair accessible, but everyone’s got bathtubs. There’s no wheelchair or rolling showers and all that stuff. That is the biggest conundrum,” Mark said.
The family also needs to replace their vehicles, including a 2003 Dodge Caravan that was wheelchair accessible. They estimate it will cost $100,000 to replace.
Since the fire, an online fundraiser established by the Gig Harbor Rotary Club surpassed its $20,000 goal.
“We’re up to $25,000. Over 150 people beyond Rotary have contributed. I think it’s just a sign of who we are as a community coming together who’s always been there to support us,” Nathan Schlicher, treasurer for Gig Harbor Rotary, said.
Meissner has been an active member of Gig Harbor Rotary for years.
“We’re so grateful. We weren’t expecting that. Thank you to everyone,” Meissner said, and added that the best way to help them out is by donating online.
The family is still awaiting approval from the fire department to search through the rubble for anything that may have survived the fire.
While the road to recovery is long, they are determined to rebuild their home.
“You got to dream otherwise, if you start thinking of the past and dwelling on it, you just get sucked in and it’s a downward spiral. I’ve been down the road, and I don’t have to be there again,” Mark said.
