Four families have been displaced after a furnace caught fire in the basement of an apartment building in southern Door County on Sunday, December 18.
The fire, which started around 8:30 p.m., took place near the corner of Rocky Road and County Line Road.
Every fire department in Door and Kewaunee Counties was deployed along with several fire departments from the Green Bay area.
The building that was on fire used to be a bowling alley but was converted into an apartment with 4 units.
All of the occupants were evacuated and no one was hurt, but all 4 units were deemed a complete loss after the fire.
Fire Chief Curt Vandertie of the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department says the families affected by the fire lost everything, including Christmas presents and supplies their children need for school.
Chief Vandertie also said that the families were uninsured.
While some of those affected by the fire are staying with relatives, others are residing at local hotels provided by the American Red Cross.
According to Chief Vandertie, these families have until the beginning of January to find a new place to live.
Rick DeJardin, the owner of the apartment building, is asking for the community's help to get these families back on their feet.
"They need Christmas presents for their kids (6 kids affected by fire), gas money to find a new place to live, car payments to make, bills to pay, money for short term living (hotels etc), all the things we take for granted everyday, these people completely lost.," a Go Fund Me page started by DeJardin reads.
No one was harmed in the fire, but DeJardin states that all the families had "was the clothes on their back" when the building burned down.
You can visit the Go Fund Me page by clicking here.
