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Community supports house-fire victims

When Danielle Makonin and Jason Sim’s rental home burned in a fire in January they had the unfailing support from friends and family but didn’t expect such an outpouring of community generosity.

When Danielle Makonin and Jason Sim’s rental home burned in a fire in January they had the unfailing support from friends and family but didn’t expect such an outpouring of community generosity. Makonin and her six-month-old baby, Jacob, were lucky to escape the home that had no working smoke alarms. The downstairs tenant also escaped. The home was gutted by the blaze; the only material item Makonin managed to take from the home was her cellphone. The couple did not have tenant’s insurance but a Facebook post spurred many community members to give generously.Now, says Sim’s mom Shonnean, the family has most of the items it needs to set up a new home. The family has found a new rental home and is extremely grateful for all the goods, which include a washer and dryer, furniture, vacuum, kids clothes and other items as well as money that was donated. “The outpouring from the community has been unreal. We’re trying to thank everybody,” Shonnean says. “They (the couple) did not anticipate this kind of response.”