Tragic House Fire Strikes Local Family

At 3:44 PM on March 6, 2016, tragedy struck the Karafa family of West Homestead, Pa. Gina and John Karafa arrived home with their 11-year-old daughter, Kayla, after attending her basketball game that afternoon. They opened their garage door to a house filled with smoke and heard the loud screeching of their home’s smoke alarms. Fear, anger, and sadness filled the hearts of the Karafa family that day.

The family was immediately uprooted from their home, but the most tragic loss to them that day was the deaths of two of their three dogs, Lady and Curly. In addition, their dog Cocoa needed emergency veterinary care from suffering carbon dioxide poisoning and eye ulcerations. While the immense damage to the Karafa’s home was worked on, how did the family cope with their losses? They give credit to the incredible support of their family and their community for stepping in during such a hard time to support them in many ways. Gina Karafa elaborates, “The community support was overwhelming, very caring and giving. Kayla’s class from St. Therese School donated money for Cocoa’s vet bill and they called it Coins for Cocoa. The entire school also donated money for a dress down day at school for our family.”

The Karafa family chose to call Extreme Restoration to repair the extensive damage caused by the fire. In such a sensitive situation, when a lifetime of belongings, including the most sentimental of memories, has been exposed to damage, it takes a special kind of company to handle the situation with the sensitivity and care needed. When asked if they feel Extreme represented the respect needed in this horrible situation, the Karafas responded, “Absolutely! They went above and beyond.”

And now, about 8 months later, how are the Karafas doing? Gina says, “We are doing very well. It was a hard adjustment, but thanks to our family and friends and Extreme Restoration, they made our situation a lot easier and manageable.”

Since March, they have moved back into their beautifully restored home AND have added another member to their family: a charcoal lab they fittingly named Blaze.