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Susan Logiotatos is seeking assistance from the community to help raise money for her mother and niece after a house fire in Andalusia resulted in a complete loss Thursday, March 9.

According to Logiotatos, her mother was cooking pork chops the night of the incident when the grease caught fire and became out of control.

“Everyone including pets was able to make it out of the house safely. Unfortunately, they lost everything and her vehicle but did not have any insurance on the home or her car. My father passed away five years ago, and my mother is 60 years old, disabled, and living on a fixed income. She has been raising my niece. At this point, they have nowhere to go. I’m trying my hardest to help, but as a single working mother of three children, I am limited on what I can do,” she said.

Logiotatos stated that she received word of the fire when her niece Lilly called her around 8 p.m. on FaceTime.

“She was hysterical, and I could see the fire going in the background. The first thing that ran through my mind was, ‘Is everyone okay? Oh no! What are Mom and Lilly going to do now?’ I drove down from Birmingham the next day and rented a hotel. I went to Lilly’s school and took mom to the VA to see what help she could get.”

She added that the Red Cross offered to help by donating a $500 card to her mother who has since moved in with other relatives. With her children in school, Logiotatos had to return to Birmingham but took Lilly with her. She currently attends school online while traveling to work with her aunt.

“I chose to create a GoFundMe page because I wanted to get the word out and see if anyone knew about any resources. Any donations would truly help our family so much. I’ve never been in a situation like this and really don’t know how much it would cost to start over. I thought $2,000 would be a start. Mom needs a car because she doesn’t even have one right now,” she said.

Logiotatos and her mother expressed their gratitude for the support they have received thus far.

“Even the prayers are blessings. People have reached out even if they can’t donate, and that has been so helpful. There have been a lot of people in a similar situation. We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. This is one of the biggest tragedies of our lives, and we know God has a better plan.”

She set an initial goal of $2,000 for the GoFundMe page at gofund.me/f3426364.

“If you are able to help donate and share, it would be such a blessing. Anybody who has information on resources would be a big help as well. Thank you all for the prayers,” Logiotatos said.