BRIGHTON, Mich. — A Livingston County family lost everything in a house fire one week ago. Lindsay Rowe and her husband AJ woke up last Monday to a home filled with smoke.
"We worked so hard to get to our dream and it was taken away in 30 seconds," said Rowe.
Fire crews say the fire started in the laundry room in their farmhouse and spread to all three floors. The Rowe family has seven kids however, only six were home the night of the fire.
"As soon as I opened the door, it was like a brick wall of this thick, black smoke and the only thing I could think of was my kids," said Rowe. "Everything happened exactly how it had to happen. I, for some reason, skipped two bedrooms to get to the room in the middle and grab those kids and moments later that floor collapsed into the laundry room where the fire started."
Rowe says she, her husband, and their six kids had no choice but to jump from a second-story window to get out of the house.
"We didn’t even have a pair of shoes, a pair of socks. We were jumping from windows in our underwear and it was devastating," said Rowe.
The fire sent all six children and both parents to the hospital for smoke inhalation and burn-related injuries. They also lost two dogs.
"We were in the hospital and maybe four or five kids had been discharged at that point and we knew hopefully in a few days we would be going home but we didn’t have a home to go to," said Lindsay. "We were offered a hotel room, which totally not ungrateful, but it isn’t a great option for a family of our size."
In the days following the fire, Rowe began sharing updates on social media. Her story gained a lot of traction which led to countless donations to a GoFundMe and a clothing drive at the Hartland Deerfield Fire Department. The story also made its way to John Cueter who is the owner of Brighton Ford.
"I saw that they had six kids and the devastation. I went into the mode of what can we do to help immediately," said Cueter.
Rowe says as she sat in the hospital wondering where she and her children would be able to stay while they figured things out, her sister informed her that someone was trying to contact her. It was Cueter. Rowe says she was speechless when he offered her his home and a vehicle to drive.
Within hours, Rowe says Cueter was at the hospital to give them the keys to the home and pickup truck. Brighton area business American Flames Design and nonprofit Veterans Connected filled up the refrigerator with food before the family arrived.
"This is a complete stranger who just gave me his home for my family. Not just a home, a beautiful home where we can begin to heal," said Rowe.
Cueter says the house and car are the Rowe family’s to use for as long as they need it.
"I look at how I’ve had success in business and in life in general and it was really about others helping me in times of need," said Cueter. "It really is all about giving back, community rallying around people that have things that come up and I think if we could get our whole community to do that more, it would be awesome."
Rowe says it’s a reminder that good people still exist.
"We’re so lucky and so blessed and people keep asking if we will rebuild here still. There is nowhere else in the world. This community is home forever," said Rowe.
Rowe says in the coming weeks they'll be working with the Hartland Deerfield Fire Department on fire safety events to help prevent another family from experiencing the same tragedy.
