Family struggling to process loss of great-grandmother, home in fire

Published: Updated:

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.- A mother who narrowly escaped a deadly fire at her Bonita Springs home on Tuesday is thanking the rescuers who pulled her young daughter to safety.

“I wish I could do more to show you guys that I really appreciate everything you did for me yesterday,” said Kristy Phillips, who adds it’s been an emotional 32 hours for her family.

Phillips and her 2-year-old daughter were in their home on Dortch Avenue when the fire broke out early in the morning.

Two landscapers rushed in to help, rescuing the 2-year-old before the fire department arrived at the home, but the good Samaritans were unable to get to 75-year-old Shirley Corrigan, Phillips’ grandmother, in time.

“I know everybody tried to do the best they could to help me get my grandma out,” Phillips said.

The Phillips family says they know the family dog Nilla, who also passed away in the fire, died by Corrigan’s side.

“She used to walk the dog, she watched my daughter after school, she was very healthy for her age,” said Sonia Flores, Corrigan’s great-granddaughter. “She still had a long way to go. It’s such a tragedy the way that she, that she died.”

Flores adds the family isn’t dealing with the tragedy well, “they’re staying in a hotel right now. The Red Cross is helping with that, but after that, they’re living day by day. They don’t know what they’re going to do yet.”

Wednesday afternoon, an insurance company was looking into the damage caused by the fire. The family had been living in the home since 1997 and they know it will take time to rebuild before they can call it home again.

“This house was blessed to me many years ago and it was something I wished for and got so we want to stay,” said Kim Phillips, Corrigan’s daughter.

The State Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire, but authorities say the smoke detector inside home may have been disabled when the flames broke out.

If you’d like to help out the Phillips family, a GoFundMe page has been set up.

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