Zeeland neighbors helping displaced family after house fire

Jun. 25—ZEELAND — Karyn Lozano was almost asleep when her boyfriend smelled the smoke.

"I didn't smell anything," Lozano told The Sentinel. "But he said it was really strong. We went up the stairs and into the kitchen, and we could see smoke coming from the garage."

When her boyfriend opened the door, Lozano said, every smoke alarm in the house went off. It was just before 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Lozano, who lives with her boyfriend and two sons, knew she needed to act fast.

"Immediately, I opened the kennels and let the dogs out through the back door," she said. "I grabbed a coat and ran out the front door. My boyfriend tried looking in the garage, but there was no electricity."

Lozano's sons, 17 and 10, were in Texas for the summer. Lozano, with the assistance of neighbors Nicole and Chris McAndrew, called the fire department and rescued two bunnies housed in backyard kennels.

"I also had a bunny with her babies in a hutch near the back of the garage," Lozano said. "But the flames were going so quickly, we weren't able to save them."

Lozano's boyfriend went back into the house to find car keys. There were three vehicles at home; one in the garage and two in the driveway.

"He was probably scared they were going to catch on fire and explode," Lozano said. "He must have inhaled a lot of smoke, but he found his keys and was able to move his car. The front end of our van, which we didn't have the keys for, melted."

The vehicle in the garage was destroyed. For Lozano, the fire is another frustration after three years of roadblocks.

"It's been very, very hard these last three years," she said. "COVID hit and there was a lack of work and income, and now my house burned down. There were a lot of irreplaceable memories stored in the garage. All of this, and being a single mom. When it rains, it pours."

Unfortunately, the pouring rain was literal Thursday, making the task of gathering any salvageable belongings in the home even harder.

"There's water coming into the house and the ceilings are going to start collapsing," Lozano said. "The second floor ceilings have already collapsed into my sons' rooms, so none of that is salvageable, and everything is sitting there, getting wet."

The structure on Renwick Court in Zeeland is considered a total loss.

While the fire was concentrated in the garage and second floor, the first floor of the home is soot-damaged and wet. The basement is soaked, mostly from water that fell from hoses while the fire was extinguished.

"We found a company today that could tarp up the house to limit more damage, but there's been lightning," Lozano said. "They weren't able to do it. Where was this rain yesterday?

"I haven't slept. I feel like this isn't real, like it's a dream. We were very lucky to have gotten out as quickly as we did. It escalated so quickly."

Lozano has home insurance and her family, and pets, have secured housing at a local hotel. But while she works through the process, there are short-term purchases to be made: hygiene products, clothing, phone chargers, meals, gas.

For those needs, Lozano's neighborhood has stepped in.

"We've talked with our neighborhood association, and we're trying to come together as a smaller community," Nicole McAndrew said.

McAndrew is encouraging community members to help through GoFundMe at gofund.me/59f36507.

"A lot of people have already reached out to give clothes and items," she said. "And that's been so helpful. But they don't have a lot of room yet, and they don't know what they'll be facing next."

In addition to donating online, McAndrew suggests purchasing gift cards to local restaurants and stores, so the family can get what they need, when they need it. Gift cards can be sent to 3282 Renwick Court.

"They'll eventually need somebody to help them fix their van," McAndrew said. "It's very sentimental to them, and they want to get it fixed. But mostly, (Lozano) is concerned about her boys.

"The insurance will cover some of what they've lost eventually, but this was their childhood home and it's unimaginable. It's great to know they're safe, but they're coming home to a whole new world."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

"We don't know what happened," Lozano said. "We're just trying to go one step at a time."

— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.

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