Family displaced by fire bolstered by help from neighbors
WASHINGTON TWP — A family of six lost its home Saturday night, but assistance from friends and neighbors has the victims feeling optimistic.
The Waugaman family returned home from a Thanksgiving celebration Saturday night to find the basement of their home engulfed in flames. Their home on the 2700 block of Oneida Valley Road is a total loss.
And yet, Bill and Nikki Waugaman — as well as their sons Jake, Luke, Dylan and Davey — are not feeling despair. The boys are 13, 11, 7 and 5 years, respectively.
Some friends in the Eau Claire Volunteer Fire Department transformed the department’s social hall into a gathering place for donations. A couple members spent much of Tuesday sorting donated clothes into bags and labeling them with the boys’ names.
No one was hurt in the fire, but the family dog, Helix, died. Helix was a Shih Tzu-yorkie mix.
Before the fire was out, Nikki said, donors were already pledging money to a GoFundMe page. Two legitimate online donation drives were established, Bill said. A GoFundMe page organized by Abby Campbell is legitimate, he said, and so is another organized by Eric Redmond.
Read more about the Waugaman's in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle.
