ALGONQUIN, IL —A blaze last week at an Algonquin townhome has left an Algonquin woman homeless — and without her beloved “fur babies” — this holiday season.
Alesha Wright had just moved into her new townhome with her two dogs a week prior to a blaze breaking out at the residence on Cedar Grove Court on Thanksgiving Day. The cause of the fire, which claimed the lives of both her dogs, remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, Wright’s sister, Trinity Wamsley has set up a GoFundMe to help her sister as she works to get back on her feet.
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As of Friday, more than $7,200 has been raised for Alesha. The money will go toward helping pay for a new home, replace some of the items Alesha lost in the fire and pay for the costs to have her dogs, Lucy and Shelby, cremated.
“She pours her heart out into the community to help with the homeless every year, she is just a very giving person and always acts with selflessness to go out of her way to help those in need,” Wamsley wrote in the GoFundMe. “She if anything deserve to feel like she is supported in this tough time.”
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Wamsley said the support Alesha has received so far has been “heart-warming.”
“It means a lot to her and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to her and she just breaks into tears at the support she is receiving,” she wrote on Wednesday on the GoFundMe.
“I know we are all focused on things in our lives right now and the holidays being right around the corner makes things harder,” she wrote. “So with that being said any little bit that you might be able to help out with I’m sure our sister would greatly appreciate love and support as we would also.”
The blaze is believed to have started in the kitchen area of the townhome on Cedar Grove Court, John Knebl, deputy chief with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, told Patch earlier this week.
Fire crews were called to the scene at about noon on Nov. 23 and initiated an aggressive interior attack and search. Firefighters found one of Alesha’s dog during a primary search and brought the dog out of the home.
“Crews attempted resuscitation efforts to revive the dog unsuccessfully,” Knebl said. A second dog was found during a second search within the home and firefighters attempted to resuscitate the dog for 20 to 30 minutes but were not able to regain a pulse, he said.
The townhome was deemed uninhabitable, and a neighboring townhome sustained water and smoke damage.
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