Neighbors pitch in to help West Deptford family after fire destroys home
WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) — For the past five days, Karen Dipol hasn't been able to get the image of flames tearing through her home of more than 40 years out of her mind.
Dipol is now staying with loved ones, but her husband, Frank Interlante, was transferred to the burn unit at Crozer Medical Center in Upland.
"I can't sleep, my stomach is bothering me. It's just a nightmare, and I'm worried about my husband," said Dipol, who spent two days in the hospital.
Dipol said she was sleeping early Saturday morning when their home on Chestnut Street in West Deptford caught fire, and her husband frantically woke her up.
"I could see he wasn't himself, so I grabbed him by the arm, and we went down my cellar steps, and as we got down into the basement he passed out," she said.
Several of the couple's neighbors saw the glow from the flames and ran to help. On Saturday, CBS News Philadelphia spoke with those Good Samaritans who banged on the couple's windows and pulled Interlante out of the burning home before firefighters arrived.
"That's what neighbors do. I was glad I was there, and I'd do it again," Jim Miller, who lives across the street, said.
"I can't believe how wonderful they all were. We would probably be dead if it wasn't for them," Dipol said.
Interlante is now on a ventilator and undergoing kidney dialysis, but doctors are hopeful he will recover.
Dipol's four cats died in the fire, and she escaped with only the pajamas she was wearing and her cell phone. Her home, possessions and family photos were all destroyed.
Now, neighbors and even complete strangers are helping once again.
Dipol's granddaughter started raising money on GoFundMe, and on Thursday she said someone in West Deptford also donated a new laptop.
"It's just been really amazing to see how many people come together in their community to help out when we're in need," Dipol's granddaughter Jessica Espinoza said.
It's that support that's been helping Dipol get through this difficult time.
"I don't know how I would handle this if it wasn't for them, really they're the best," she said.
Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire.