Fundraiser For Couple Who Fled Forest Hills Fire Raises $5K

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A fundraiser for a couple whose Forest Hills apartment caught on fire has raised over $5,000.

A GoFundMe campaign has collected $5,200 to help the Forest Hills couple displaced from their Metropolitan Ave. home after a devastating fire last week. The fundraiser started by the couple's daughter-in-law, Felicia Janine Quinn, surpassed its $5,000 goal Monday, according to its GoFundMe page.

The money will help David Breuer and Diane Barton find a new apartment and replace possessions destroyed in the fire; the couple escaped the fire unharmed, according to Quinn.

"When I was first told about the fire I expected something small. Seeing the severity of it was gut wrenching," Quinn told Patch. "I couldn't stop thinking about all the what-ifs. We are lucky none of them were the reality. Thanks to David's quick reaction to seeing the flames, my daughter gets to have both her Grammy and Grampy around to watch her grow and that's the most important thing."

The fire broke out just after 7 a.m. on March 26 at 104-18 Metropolitan Ave, according to the FDNY.

Quinn knows firsthand the impact of a fundraiser after an unexpected catastrophe. She and her husband lost their Howard Beach home and many of their possessions in 2014 after torrential rain flooded the apartment with five feet of water, Quinn said. Barton and a family friend started a GoFundMe campaign to help the couple recover.

"It was a blessing they did that because we were a young, struggling couple on our own for the first time. We were able to get back on our feet quickly because of the generosity of others," Quinn said.

"So when the fire happened, my first thought was to return the favor and get a fundraiser set up immediately."