Oklahoma Borough family leans on faith, community after fire ravages home

John Walsh and his family are trying to rebuild their lives from scratch from out of a hotel in Harmar.

No one was hurt when a fire gutted their Oklahoma Borough home Saturday, but their two dogs and two cats were killed and nearly all of their possessions were destroyed.

The blaze started around 4 p.m. in the living room of their Hancock Avenue residence.

Walsh, his wife, Amy, and their teenage sons — Zachary, Kevin and Brayden — escaped as quickly as they could. There was no time to grab anything.

One of the few things that withstood the flames, Walsh noted, was his Bible.

Initially, the fire left Walsh numb, both literally and figuratively. The only priority, he said, was to “just get out of the cold.”

At a church service the next day at the First Baptist Church of Apollo, the pastor asked the congregation to pray for the family, which had been worshipping there for almost a decade.

“And all the sudden, the little kids that were in the church were coming up to me and giving me hugs,” Walsh said. “That was the first time I was able to feel any emotion about what was going on. I just started crying.”

The Walshes have been leaning on their faith to process the devastation, but they’re not navigating the tough times alone. Community members have cobbled together cash, gift cards and plenty of clothes to keep the family afloat following the tragedy.

Much of those contributions have been collected by Sia Fouse, owner of the Sia Center in Vandergrift. She watched the black smoke billow from the Walshes’ windows on her way home from work and almost immediately took to Facebook to offer her event center as a hub for donations.

“I got home, I laid down and my first instinct was just to find who the family was,” Fouse said. “I remember I made that post, I took a nap and I woke up, and my phone had just exploded.”

She has managed to collect thousands of dollars and at least 50 bags of clothes for the family, along with some shoes and nonperishables.

“It’s absolutely incredible what people have done so far,” Walsh said. “The Sia Center has gone above and beyond. We have so much clothing we don’t know what to do with it all.”

Even Lisa Schrader — whose Vandergrift home was severely damaged in a fire less than three weeks ago — passed along clothing she received as donations.

“We just wanted to pay it forward and help others the way we were helped,” she said. “I truly do know what they’re going through, and it’s a journey.”

Clothing donations are paused for now. Any items left over, Fouse noted, will be laundered and sold at a low price, with all proceeds benefiting the family.

Household goods, such as cookware and small appliances, won’t be accepted until the family finds a more permanent living situation.

Assistance also has come from the Red Cross and VFW Post 566 in Vandergrift, where Walsh is an officer.

In addition, family friend Rachel Cummings has started a GoFundMe that surpassed its initial $5,000 goal Tuesday afternoon and has started to tick toward its new target of $10,000.

Walsh asked that any further monetary contributions go through GoFundMe.