ANSONIA – GoFundMe campaigns have been organized to help two families displaced by a house fire on Sixth Street over the weekend.
Click here for a GoFundMe supporting the family of Sheila Butler.
Click here for a GoFundMe supporting the family of Amy Miklos Harvey.
Harvey is the property owner. Butler is her tenant.
An electrical fire was reported at the two-family house at 5:02 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 18). There were no injuries reported, though the flames and smoke caused damage throughout the home.
The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation.
Butler, a manager at Griffin Hospital who is often involved in meal giveaways and other Ansonia events around the city, wrote in a message to The Valley Indy that she is thankful for the community’s support.
“As you know, the Helen Butler playscape was destroyed by fire two weeks ago, and then this past Sunday, we had an electrical fire in the ceiling of our home,” she wrote. “It’s just been so much to deal with, but I’m thankful to God that we all made it out safely.”
The playground was named after her mother, who passed away in 2006.
The GoFundMe page, organized by Butler’s sister, explains her community contributions in the description.
“Now it’s our turn to show up for someone who has always shown up for so many,” the description reads.
Harvey is a paralegal who has lived in Ansonia since 2001 and is involved at craft fairs including the city’s harvest festival, according to Chelsea Hmurcik, a family member who organized the GoFundMe. Harvey has also manned the concession stands at Emmett O’Brien football games.
Harvey and four family members were displaced by the fire, according to Hmurcik.
“Everyone got out safely, all the animals got out safely. It’s just really stressful on them, and I was trying to take off any burden with the GoFundMe, because they do have to rebuild their whole downstairs,” Hmurcik said.
The house where the fire happened is a 2,900-square-foot two-family, two-story wood-frame home, according to city land records. It was built in 1900.