Displaced by fire, Squirrel Hill woman finds strength in faith and community

Rosh Hashanah has special meaning this year for Emily Lawrence, one of 30 tenants of a Squirrel Hill apartment building displaced by fire Sept. 9.

“My year didn’t end too great, obviously, and I want to start the new year better,” said Lawrence, 27, and a member of Congregation Beth Shalom.

“I typically like to do my own prayers at home, but this time feels different. This time I want to be around community.”

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Rebuilding from the fire has been all about community for Lawrence, with donations of clothing, food, cash and other assistance pouring in from friends as well as strangers.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said Lawrence, who works in behavioral health. “I knew people would have my back, but what surprised me was the number of people who helped, and I’m just so grateful for their generosity and kindness.”

The morning of the fire, Lawrence dropped off her emotional support Lab-cattle dog mix, Pollie, at day care and was settling in with a client when she received the first of a flurry of texts asking if she was OK.

“It was from a former co-worker, so I texted back, ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’” Lawrence said. “And she wrote, ‘I think your apartment building is on fire.’”

Lawrence immediately called a neighbor to confirm and went online to find images of the structure in flames. The four-alarm blaze, which was later found to have been accidental and electrical in nature, went on for hours, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

“I was shocked,” recalled Lawrence, who decided to stay at work until she could collect Pollie, and then drove to the Howard Levin Clubhouse, which was serving as an American Red Cross post.

“I made an emergency underwear run to Target, and then my dog and I hung out at the clubhouse,” she said. “The Red Cross helped me get the meds I needed, and the meds Pollie needed.”

The next day, when she went to inspect the charred remains of her former residence, the loss hit even harder, she said.

“A fireman was able to get me my important documents, like my passport and social security card, but other stuff, family stuff, had water and smoke damage and cannot be replaced. My grandmother passed away in May and I had her menorah.”

T-shirts from 4-H and B’nai B’rith Youth Organization were ruined, along with stuffed animals and other sentimental items from her childhood that she had hoped to one day pass down to her kids, she said.

“That’s when I felt the emotions. I don’t know if traumatized is the right word, but something died in me that day.”

Lawrence felt “stressed and overwhelmed” not knowing what to do next when helpers began showing up.

Joe Brophy, whom Lawrence worked with when both were at Community Day School, and who now lives in Washington D.C., became the point person, establishing a Google Form to coordinate everyone’s efforts.

“Not living in Pittsburgh I couldn’t tell Emily to come stay on our couch, but I could organize the 15 to 20 people who were helping her,” he said. “I acted as an intermediary because there was so much she had to deal with.”

Another friend, Rebecca Remson, created a Google spreadsheet that helpers could consult for “concrete ways” in which to meet Lawrence’s needs, and donated a queen-size bed for Lawrence’s new Squirrel Hill apartment.

Lawrence said that unexpectedly finding a new place while walking Pollie just a couple of days after the fire “felt like an act of God.”

A Beth Shalom friend, Shoshanna Barnett, gave Lawrence clothes. Through Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh she received a crockpot and other kitchenware, plus food from the agency’s Squirrel Hill Food pantry.

A 40-pound bag of kibble was sent anonymously to Pollie, who also received squeak toys from friends.

Lawrence’s boss at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, where Lawrence is a part-time swimming instructor, donated a couch, and Shoshana Hoexter, director of JGrad Pittsburgh, had her sons deliver a bookshelf that other friends loaded with board games and puzzles.

“Emily was active with our group while she was at Pitt, and she remains a part of our family,” said Hoexter, who cooked for Lawrence in the immediate aftermath of the fire and will host her for Rosh Hashanah dinner.

“There’s a lot of trauma in losing all of your belongings in an instant, so she’s probably going through a mourning process. She’s very grateful that she and Pollie are okay, and she’s very grateful for people’s kindness.”

That so many entities and individuals have come together is a testament to what it means to live in Pittsburgh, Remson said. “It’s really special. Helping is part of our DNA.” PJC

Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.