‘They just feel defeated’: Mom of 6 working to rebuild after fire destroyed home

MONONGAHELA, Pa. — A mother and her six kids are looking to rebuild their lives after a fire destroyed their home on Parkinson Street in Monongahela Friday night.

“It’s been rough,” said Kristy Johnson of the past few days, and of the last year. “This was just the icing on the cake.”

Firefighters raced to Johnson’s home around 7 p.m. Friday. The Gallatin Sunnyside Volunteer Fire Department said on Facebook they were there for three hours helping to get the fire out.

Johnson and her six kids — ranging from four to 16-years-old — weren’t home at the time, but they lost everything

“When I told my children everything was gone, my 11-year-old was like, ‘I lost my game systems again?’ They’re just tired of [it], they just feel defeated,” Johnson said. “This close to the holidays they’re struggling with the fact that they no longer have any of their things, and they can’t go to where they know is home, so it’s been rough.”

Johnson’s sister set up a GoFundMe which has already raised about $4,300. They’re living with a friend right now, but Johnson said that GoFundMe money has already helped them secure a new home.

She said she’s so thankful — and now she’s working on getting clothes and other household items to rebuild her family’s lives.

“There was not one thing salvageable from that fire,” she told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Johnson said she’s looking forward to leaving 2024 behind — hoping 2025 is a better year for her and her kids.

“It could have been so much worse if we’d been there. I could have lost everything. I did lose everything but I still have my kids,” Johnson said. “That’s what I’m holding on to. They’re still here and we’re safe. We have struggled a lot this year with a lot of different things, and I keep telling myself there has to be a beautiful life for us at the end of this.”

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