Fundraiser planned for Warrenville fire victims
Neighbors of seven Warrenville residents who lost everything in a fire that destroyed their home are planning a fundraiser to help with immediate expenses.
A potluck dinner with raffles and a silent auction is set for 6 p.m. Friday at VFW Post 8081 at 3S373 Mignin Drive in Warrenville. Admission is $20 and the event will raise money to help the fire victims get settled in a new place, said Anthony Bell, who lives across from the burned home at the corner of Forestview and Curtis avenues.
Those living in the two-story house that caught fire just before 5 a.m. Saturday were renting the space and now are staying with friends, Bell said.
Four residents escaped with minor injuries that were treated at the scene, and two others were not injured in the fire. But 33-year-old Will Lowe suffered third-degree burns on 40 percent of his body before three neighbors pulled him from a first-floor window.
Lowe is in critical condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.
Neighbors may plan a separate fundraiser later to help Lowe, but Bell said money raised at Friday’s event will benefit the “immediate needs” of the others who were living in the house.
Donations can be made to the Shultz Family Fund, courtesy of American Chartered Bank, 4685 Winfield Road, Warrenville, 60555.
Warrenville fire officials said Tuesday they have not received a report from the DuPage County fire investigation task force, which was assisting Warrenville police in determining the cause of the fire.