HUMBOLDT — Sabrina Butler has been inundated with offers of help.
And she will gladly accept it, as she deals with the aftermath of a Friday fire that gutted her childhood home.
“I’ve had so many people come forward, some have bedding, or this or that,” she said Tuesday. “Right now, I need a place to live.”
Butler and her fiance, Tim White, lost pretty much all of their belongings in Friday’s fire in the 900 block of North Eighth Street.
Aside from assorted odds and ends — tables her father built years ago, and a Bible, for instance — the rest of her possessions were destroyed.
In the meantime, coworkers at Iola’s Casey’s General Store have assisted the company in putting up the couple for the next few days at a hotel in Iola.
“I’m not sure when my ‘get out’ date is,” Butler said. “People keep adding days, and it’s greatly appreciated.”
The American Red Cross also reached out to Butler and White with cash assistance the day of the fire. That money was quickly spent to buy a few outfits for both.
White’s niece set up a GoFundMe account for cash donations, and Butler’s coworkers have set up a collection spot at the Iola store as well.
“Some random gentleman from Yates Center came up to us at Orscheln (Monday) and gave us money,” she recalled. “I don’t even know his name.”
BUTLER and White were en route to Illinois Friday morning for the holidays, when she received a frantic phone call just before noon from Edna Donovan, an old bowling partner.
“I thought it was strange because I really hadn’t talked to her for a while,” Butler said. “But I could hear her beating on my door.”
“Are you OK?” Donovan asked, assuming Butler was still in the house. “Get up!” (That’s because both of Butler’s cars were still parked outside.)
Another neighbor was attempting to get inside to rescue Butler’s dogs. (Those animals were already at Kylee Geffert’s Doggy Daycare, because Butler was going out of town.)
Sadly, Butler did lose at least four cats in the fire, plus another feline, a neighbor’s, that would pay her pets a visit frequently, entering the home through a doggy door.
Two other cats that were outside when Butler and White were leaving are still unaccounted for.
