The community should help its families in times of need

It’s a smell I’ll never forget.

I’ve had the unfortunate duty of covering house fires over the years and the smell always takes me back to the time I experienced it firsthand.

Over the weekend, a Green River family awoke to the terror a house fire can bring and sadly, not everyone survived. Elizabeth Andrews, along with two pet dogs, died in the fire. Anyone passing by the home as they drive up Colorado Street or along Idaho Street can see the story first hand. The home is a complete loss -- almost being burnt to the ground.

While I can’t say I know the loss of losing a loved one to such a tragedy, I know the feeling of losing nearly everything I owned and escaping with only the clothes on my back.

I also know the feeling of seeing a community help our family out as we put our lives back on track. Even now, 18 years after the fact, I’m eternally grateful for what many people, some of whom I’ve never met, helped provide us in those days and weeks after the fire.

I’m encouraging the residents of Green River to help the Andrews family in any way they can. Monetary donations can be made at Trona Valley Federal Credit Union through an account called the Andrews Family Fund. A silent auction has also been established through a Facebook group called Silent Auction For Elizabeth Andrews & Family.

Please consider donating to this family. Recovering from a house fire is in a word, tough. I can’t imagine what the family faces as they adapt to the new reality this tragic event has brought them. But, Green River has always shown itself as a community willing to help its members out in times of need and anything our readers can do to assist the Andrews family will go a long way.