Woodstock, Illinois fire victims gifted with new apartments after being displaced
WOODSTOCK, Ill. (CBS) -- Fourteen Woodstock families who were displaced after a fire two weeks before Thanksgiving got a helping hand ahead of Christmas.
When the fire ripped through the two-story apartment complex at 710 of St. John's Rd. on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 12, crews spent two hours battling the flames. Douglas Webster, 54, died, and most of the residents lost everything.
"I was in the bed. I was getting ready to fall asleep. All of a sudden, I hear the banging, and I'm like what the heck is going on? I'm thinking the neighbors are in a fight," said fire victim said fire victim, Jenelle Dail. "I open the door, and there's a firefighter telling me to get out of the building; that the building is about to come down—and that was terrifying,"
Dail grabbed her dog and ran outside to watch the building burn. Now weeks later, she and 14 others who lived there are receiving what they call a Christmas miracle.
"I feel like Christmas miracles have been happening to me this year," Dail said.
Dail and 13 others are now living at Patriot Prairie Apartments in Woodstock, an affordable housing complex housing a mixture of veterans, families, single mothers, and those trying to escape domestic violence. Patriot Services Group saw how some were impacted by the fire, and decided to help by offering some apartments.
"We linked up with the whole community and we were able to offer free rent, no security deposit, and quick move-ins—a couple being veterans, a couple being single moms, a couple being families," said Patriot Services Group executive director Paul Anderson, "and they all now have forever homes before Christmas. And not living in hotels."
They teamed up with others in the area to provide these families with everything they needed. Also stepping in was Veterans Path to Hope—another nonprofit hoping to fill the gaps of veterans, their families, and active-duty military when things get rough.
"We have a team that delivers a house full of furniture, two weeks' worth of food, and then pots and pans in those kinds of things that people need to get back on their feet again," said Laura Franz, executive director of Veterans Path to Hope.
Just seven days before Christmas, Dail is grateful for what she has and where she is.
"It's a very humbling experience to be put in this situation. I've never felt this way. It's actually hard to put into words because I've never really felt like part of a community like this," she said.
This holiday season Dail is taking the time to reflect on what she considers to be a blessing amid a storm.
"Sometimes things happen for a reason. I can't explain what this reason is. But so far, I'm happy where it ended up. My life has actually gotten a little bit better after the fire," Dail said. "I truly am looking forward to the future, my time in this place, and just in general."
Dail's final hope for the holidays is to get help for her 60-year-old father—who lost everything, including some of his cats, during the fire. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family.
Meanwhile, the cause of the fire remains under investigation.