Community rallies around firefighter after house burns down

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- The irony is not lost on Colin Kowalski, the South Bend firefighter who woke up at work Sunday morning to some devastating news.

"It's not the first time I've woken up to a fire. It's just the first time it's been my home," Kowalski said, "A really scary thing to hear, being on the other side of it and being so far away."

He drove the grueling 30-minute commute to his Plymouth home, on the phone with his wife, who got their 4-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy out safe along with their dogs.

"Most of the fire was already out by the time I got there. It wasn't 'hey, go in and help,' it was, 'hey, go find your kids'," Kowalski said.

The entire family survived the fire, thanks to one of the family dogs, Riot.

"Our shepherd woke her up first thing in the morning, or first thing when it all kicked off before the smoke alarms even went off," Kowalski said. "Obviously he smelled something. And they all got out of there before it got bad, so, I'm really thankful for that. He got a steak dinner."

It took just minutes from the time of the fire for South Bend Firefighters Local 362 President Eric Griffin to set up a fundraiser, reaching its original $10,000 in less than 24 hours but still growing. 

"It's awesome to see people helping out," Griffin said. "We're used to being the people that are taking care of everybody else, so we tend to forget to take care of ourselves."