‘It’s been overwhelming’: Thousands raised for Beamsville family after house fire

A Beamsville family is picking up the pieces after a devastating house fire that left their home in ruins and forced a young girl to make a narrow escape.

At 5:45 a.m. on May 4, Katie Seminerio left her house like any other day, leaving her daughter, Charlie, home alone with the family dog and cat. Forty-five minutes later, Charlie woke up to the sound of the dog barking and found the garage engulfed in flames.

“My room was smokey,” Charlie said. “I grabbed a hat like off my bed to cover my mouth.”

Charlie managed to escape through her parents’ bedroom. She credited the family dog for the early warning, noting that while the dog usually “barks at nothing,” the persistent barking alerted her to the danger.

Katie Seminerio described the frantic drive home after learning of the blaze. “I don’t know how I made it back,” she said. “I was halfway home, the ride’s a blur — how I got here. It was just a lot.”

While everyone made it out safely with no reported injuries, the ordeal was not over. The following day, Katie received another call informing her that the house was on fire again, reportedly due to hotspots from the initial blaze.

The family is currently staying with relatives nearby. Katie said the response from the community has been overwhelming, with people she has not spoken to in years providing donations and warm meals.

“I was in a warm bed that night, my kids were taken care of,” she said. “It’s been overwhelming, the community support.”

A GoFundMe page started for the Seminerio family has nearly reached its target of $28,000. Additionally, Station 1 Coffee House in Grimsby is accepting gift cards and monetary donations.

“For a family who always invites open heartedly people into their home, for them to lose their home, it’s a lot,” said a family friend, Lisa.

The Lincoln Fire Department confirmed that the estimated damage is $2 million. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

READ MORE: Investigation underway after fatal house fire in Lincoln, Ont.