NJ cop, nurse, and baby lose everything in fire — How to help

What gets to me about this story is that it has both a good and bad ending and it happened to people who dedicated their lives to helping others.

Sean Twerdak is a police officer serving my hometown of Rahway. His wife Jessie is a nurse. They have a 10-month-old baby girl, Abigail, and a dog, Charlie. This happy little family, who make a living trying to keep the rest of us safe and healthy, recently lost their home in Howell to a fire.

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Photo by R.D. Smith on Unsplash

They were home at the time and the fire spread so quickly it took their house in minutes. They had to scramble to assess what was happening, call 911, get their dog and their baby from upstairs and find a safe way out for everyone. It was a close call.

That’s the good news. The bad news is the Twerdaks lost everything in the fire. Not only was the fire so fast and devastating that it rendered the home uninhabitable, but the family lost everything inside it.

They are starting over without a single thing necessary for a less-than-1-year-old, let alone all their own personal items.

lithiumcloud | Getty Images

Sean’s uncle William had called in to our show after it happened and told us some of these dramatic details.

I’m happy to say he’s stayed in touch and I heard from this week about a fundraiser being held on Saturday, June 6, that I want you to know about. Every penny will go directly to help this family after years of them helping everyone else.

It’s being held at The Cigar Social in Freehold this Saturday, June 6, from 12 to 6 p.m. $100 will include two cigars, food, and spirits.

Cigar Social, Freehold, NJ via Google Street View

The lounge is at 138 Village Center Drive in Freehold. This lounge has plenty of five-star Google reviews and looks to be a fun time. You can pay at the door or through Venmo to William Oplinger (@oppy31).

If you can’t make that, you can still help another way. When they lost their home a GoFundMe page was set up for them and they’re not at their goal yet. You can help get them there by donating on their page.

This heroic couple would appreciate any help you could offer, and their sweet little girl will grow up hearing about your generosity.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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