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Fairfield family loses everything in house fire
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FAIRFIELD – A family in rural Fairfield lost everything they own in a house fire on Thursday, Nov. 21.
A GoFundMe has been started to assist the family of Tanner and Hanna Schafer and their three children, Jersey, Noah, and Elizabeth. The family lived at 1648 Jasmine Avenue just north of Maharishi Vedic City. Just after 9 p.m. on Nov. 21, Hanna and Tanner started hearing things in their house, but didn’t know where the noises were coming from.
“We heard things falling, and I thought, ‘Did I mess up the washer again?’” Hanna said. “We were running around the main floor and the basement. When my husband opened the door to the upstairs, all the smoke came rushing down.”
Hanna said Tanner tried to go upstairs to investigate, but the fire was already so hot and smoky that he couldn’t reach the top of the stairs. Hanna said she rushed into her kids’ bedrooms to wake them up and get them out of the house as fast as possible.
Fairfield Fire Department arrived on the scene, as well as the Packwood Fire Department. Hanna estimates the fire burned for about an hour before it was extinguished because it was so windy. The ceilings and stairs collapsed on the main level, falling into the kids’ bedrooms. Hanna said almost nothing was salvageable.
None of the five were seriously injured in the fire, though Tanner suffered second-degree burns on his hands.
Tanner is from Fairfield while Hanna is from Bettendorf. Hanna’s friend Haileigh Garza set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for the family. As of Wednesday afternoon, about $9,000 had been raised toward the $15,000 goal.
“We’re very grateful for everything that everyone is doing,” Hanna said. “We know we’ll never be able to repay this gratitude.”
Hanna said she has started an Amazon account to begin replacing the belongings they lost. She said the family has received enough donated clothes now, and they are thankful for everyone who has pitched in.
To support the Schafer family, visit their GoFundMe at gofundme.com/f/support-hanna-and-tanners-family-after-a-house-fire
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
