How to Help a Bangor, Maine Family Who Lost Everything to Fire

Early Thursday morning in the middle of an unusual June heatwave, a Bangor family woke up to their home on fire. Sadie Riese woke up to smoke around 3:40am in her room and quickly acted by getting her parents and the family dog out of the home where they called Bangor Fire Department. Now the community is rallying together to help their neighbors.

Fox 22 Bangor has reported that the family was left with only a phone and a wallet. Everything else that they owned was destroyed in the fire. Neighbors and Mainers from all over are now coming to their aid. A Go Fund Me has been created to support the family with recovering from this total loss tragedy.

Hello, my name is Abby and I’m raising funds for our beloved neighbors and friends, Greg and Jeanne Riese. Early this morning they lost their home in a fire and all of their belongings with it. Thankfully the whole family was able to get out okay along with their dog. The house is a total loss, and they were only able to get out with the clothes on their backs. Any amount of money you can spare to help them is very much appreciated at this time.

Bangor, Maine Fire Department Was Phenomenal Thursday Morning

With tragedy, heroes emerge, and that has never been truer than demonstrated by our Bangor firefighters Thursday mornings. Within minutes of receiving the 911 call, Bangor Fire Department was on scene and kept a fire isolated to the home of origin where it otherwise could have easily spread to other structures.

Our crews along with several other mutual aid departments did an outstanding job at 3:47am to keep this fire to the building of origin. This picture from a bystander as we arrived just shows what crews faced in the first five minutes. We are very thankful that everyone made it out safely and that there were no injuries with 40 firefighters working for three hours in the heat and humidity. - Bangor Fire Department Instagram