Family Loses Puppy, Cat, Home In Fire In Glen Ellyn

GLEN ELLYN, IL — Twins Nick and Joe DeMeo missed celebrating their late March birthday in 2020 due to coronavirus, so their family planned a special evening out for 2021. This year, the DeMeo family and their friends went out to Topgolf on March 30, but their night of fun was quickly interrupted by a phone call that would change their lives.

That night, DeMeo family's house was gutted in a devastating blaze that also claimed the lives of their 1-year-old puppy, Rosie, and their cat, Rocky.

The Night of the Fire

"It was kind of a haze and a blur," mom Kim DeMeo told Patch of that night. She said a neighbor texted her son to tell them they needed to come home right away. The family and their friends rushed back to the DeMeo's neighborhood and had to park three blocks from the house because several neighbors were outside concerned about them.

"The crazy thing was just seeing how many neighbors were out in support," DeMeo said.

“We always had the house everybody was at," DeMeo said, "If you didn’t know where your kid was they were probably at our house."

Shortly after they arrived at the scene, the DeMeos were told that their puppy and cat had died in the blaze. The fire resulted in a "complete and total loss" of their home, but DeMeo considers herself lucky that she, her husband Lou, and their children, Nick, Joe and Louie, were not home at the time.

"I have the most important things right now," DeMeo told Patch.

The DeMeo family later discovered it was a spark from a faulty power strip that destroyed their home. DeMeo told Patch the spark traveled to a sound bar, causing another spark, which caused the television to explode.

“Everyone assured us that during the sparking process the carbon monoxide lulled our little fur babies to sleep, so they didn’t know what happened," DeMeo said.

She added that a fire chief explained just how lucky the family was to have not been home during the fire and explained different scenarios that they thankfully avoided.

“It could have happened in the middle of the night, and we could have fallen asleep and never woken up," DeMeo told Patch. "It's so scary thinking how lucky we were that we weren’t there.”

DeMeo says she keeps replaying those possible scenarios in her head. She said it's like "a movie that would just keep playing, and I couldn’t push pause on."

Picking Up the Pieces

The DeMeo's home sustained heavy smoke, heat and fire damage. Every socket was blown out. The floor disintegrated. Acid in the soot left most of their possessions too dangerous to handle due to potential carcinogenic contamination, DeMeo said.

She explained that the brick home will have to be demolished down to its studs and a chemical test will be done to ensure the bricks are not contaminated. If they are, they will have to come down too.

"We’ll rebuild, and it will be all good," DeMeo told Patch.

In the meantime, the family is staying with DeMeo's mother-in-law in Lombard, an arrangement they can expect to last for about a year, she said.

There, the kids can play with their late dog Rosie's sister and feel some sense of normalcy.

Still, there are constant reminders of their loss, DeMeo said.

For instance, as she was doing laundry, she came across her mother-in-law's Christmas decorations, which included her children's handprints. Her own mementos like these were lost to the fire.

“That’s the stuff that tugs at your heart," DeMeo said. Nonetheless, "[t]here have been so many positives," she added.

A GoFundMe page was started "to help the DeMeo family rebuild with lots of the love they have so freely given to others," the fundraiser states. As of April 30, the page had raised more than $12,000 of its $70,000 goal.

Click the link to donate to the DeMeo GoFundMe page.

The "Kindness Of Strangers"

“We’re very lucky to be surrounded by family friends and even the kindness of strangers," DeMeo said of the outpouring of support the family has received since the fire. "We’re just so grateful."

On our interview call, she repeatedly mentioned how grateful the family is for those who have offered clothing, food or even just a shoulder to lean on.

"I feel like 'thank you' doesn’t even begin to express my gratitude," DeMeo said. "Things you didn’t even think were a big impact [end up staying] with people, and it just comes back to you."

DeMeo told Patch her three children have also been a great source of support. She called them "extremely inspirational."

"They've handled what has been dealt [to] them with grace and patience," DeMeo said.

She added that it's important to look at what's positive. "I told the kids this will be a new chapter and a new beginning, and we’ll get through this.”

A "Silver Lining"

Shortly after the fire, the DeMeo family received a sign that things would be alright, Kim told Patch.

Her husband, Lou, is a die-hard White Sox fan, but Lou lost most of his memorabilia, including irreplaceable items from his late father, in the fire.

When the family went into the home to take photos of the initial damage, they encountered intense ash and soot. The lighting was poor, and it was hard to see, DeMeo explained.

Later, while going through the photos, they were struck by the fact that a White Sox painting Kim had made for Lou a couple of years ago at a painting party. Miraculously, the fire had left it basically untouched.

“It’s the absolute craziest thing," DeMeo said.

She added, "I need that silver lining."

Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.

Related: Dog, Cat Die In House Fire Near Glen Ellyn