'I lost everything.' Community rallies around Laurel families in apartment building fire

The Rigbie apartment building on North Central Avenue in Laurel burned down Thursday night, but resident Jen Prince had no idea until the next morning.

The 46-year-old poultry worker was standing across the street from the still-smoldering building Friday morning, stunned. He was at home with his four children the night before, he said, when someone knocked on the door and told them there was a fire.

“When we got out there, there was a little smoke; it wasn’t bad. After that, the firefighters came in so we had to go stay at the Fire Department until the Red Cross came,” he said. “I was in Seaford last night; that’s where they sent us. I didn’t know it was burning down. Then I passed by this morning ...”

Prince trailed off, incredulous, leaning over to put his hands on his knees.

“I lost everything. My wallet, my cellphone, everything inside,” he said.

The only thing Prince grabbed on his way out of the building were his car keys. Other than that, he and his children, and his wife, who was at work at the time, left with only the clothes on their backs.

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He pointed to the burned-out remains of a bunk bed and identified them as his daughters’, shaking his head.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said.

Since the blaze, a local nonprofit and the Laurel School District have stepped in to see to the needs of his family and the other families affected by the fire.

The Good Ole Boy Foundation is a Sussex County-based nonprofit that focuses on helping families in times of unforeseen hardship. Josh Wharton said he and several other board members went to the scene the night of the fire, as did Laurel School District administrators.

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Two school buses, provided by district bus contractor Jay Hill, were used to transport the 11 affected families, first to the Fire Department, then to hotels, according to Susan Whaley, Laurel’s director of student services.

District teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, administrators and a nurse went to the Fire Department “to provide support and love” for students and their families, Whaley said. With the majority of the affected families Spanish-speaking, district staff members provided translation services throughout the night.

“The Laurel community came out in full force,” Wharton said.

Whaley concurred.

"There were so many people showing up to the fire hall with clothes, shoes, blankets, supplies, food, snacks and even toys to keep the children entertained and their minds off such a tragic event,” she said.

That night, the American Red Cross provided replacement eyeglasses and medications. On Friday, Laurel Elementary School staff hosted a birthday party at Chick-fil-A for a student whose family was displaced by the fire.

The Good Ole Boy Foundation was able to temporarily place the families in hotels that night. Members of the Hispanic community volunteered to do the families’ laundry and provide meals, Wharton said.

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“When we interviewed them that night, most of their concerns were about getting back to work so they could support their families,” Wharton said. “They’re just amazing people.”

The foundation is spending thousands weekly to pay for the hotel rooms until permanent housing can be obtained for each family – a lofty goal in the present rental market. So far, only a few rental units have been obtained and some of them won’t become available for a few weeks, Wharton said.

“We need housing, like in a desperate way,” he said.

The Laurel area is best, Wharton said, but rental units in the surrounding towns, even as far as the beach, work too. The Good Ole Boy Foundation plans to cover the cost of a deposit and the first month’s rent.

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Anyone with an available rental unit to offer and those who wish to donate can do so via the Good Ole Boy Foundation Facebook page.

Clothing and other items aren’t needed yet.

“They are living out of suitcases right now,” Wharton said. “Once we get them in a permanent spot, we’ll put the call out for furniture and other things.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Laurel apartment fire at Rigbie: Community unites to help families