A Northeast D.C. family is getting help from neighbors and friends after their rowhouse was damaged in a fire while they were out of town during Fourth of July weekend.
Sarah and Micah Murphy said they were grateful for the assistance after they returned from a wedding to find their home on the 300 block of 18th Street NE and two others had caught fire Sunday.
"It's just such a community that pulls together," Sarah Murphy said, moved by her neighbors' generosity.
The Murphys and their three children under age 3 are staying in a hotel until they can find long-term housing.
Friends and neighbors raised money through a GoFundMe campaign to help them. Many of those people met the Murphys through their work with the nonprofit group DC127, which helps D.C. children in foster care.
Micah Murphy, a naval officer, said his wife writes a Bible verse or other words of wisdom on a chalkboard wall every month. This month, she wrote "We can do hard things."
When he saw the damage to the house after the fire, that wall remained uncharred.
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The Murphys said that despite the fire, they will remain in the neighborhood they call home.
