Hi friends, family, and friends we have yet to meet!

We are the Rech family: Rob, Jackie, and our three young elementary and toddler-aged children, and over the past few days, we’ve been going through tragedy we don’t wish for anyone to experience.

Tuesday, April 29^th, started like any other Tuesday: the big kids went to school, Rob logged onto work, and I (Jackie) took the toddler to run errands late into the afternoon. Later, Rob picked up the kids and brought them home to get settled in. Shortly after arriving home from school, Rob received confirmation of the storms headed our way, which caused areawide power outages (with it still being out). Because of this, Rob went to our shed and started up the generator. He bent down to check the fuel levels by loosening the cap on the generator’s fuel tank. That’s when the unimaginable happened, and a series of horrific events unraveled before the eyes of our two oldest children.

Rob later recalled the gas cap “flying out of his hands” as the heated contents of the tank came spewing out and landing all over him. He said it was as if the tank had become pressurized with him releasing the pressure. The fuel seemed to ignite almost immediately, engulfing both of his arms and T-shirt in flames. At the same time, the flames followed the fumes back to their source—the generator—and within seconds of Rob catching fire, he was stunned by the blast of the generator exploding right in front of him. The flames towered above him, nearing the roof of our brick house, but he was preoccupied with trying to extinguish the flames on his body. Panicked, he attempted to put himself out with his hands, worsening his injuries, until he remembered to STOP. DROP. and ROLL. Once he was no longer aflame, his attention turned back to the engulfed shed, our home, but most importantly, our children who were stuck in the house screaming. As any good father would do, he ran back through the flames into the house and got our children to safety. Once he knew they were safe, the adrenaline began wearing off, and he crashed.

As I was on my way home with fresh pizza, I received the devastating call from my neighbor informing me of what happened and assuring me that our children were safe. I raced home, with my mother-in-law just behind me. We switched cars so she could pick up our terrified and traumatized children, and I could rush to the hospital to see my husband. Prior to my arrival, the hospital informed us that we needed to “prepare ourselves” to see the extent by which Rob had suffered severe burns and injury.

Rob was admitted to the hospital that night and has been receiving care from the hospital’s level 1 burn unit. My husband is covered in second- and third-degree burns and will require multiple rounds of surgery. This freak tragedy resulted in second degree burns on Rob’s entire face, around to his ears, and all the way around his neck. He also has second- and third-degree burns, tissue and nerve damage, down and around both arms, hands, and all of his fingers, except for three fingertips from where he had caught fire. He is in near-constant excruciating pain from having to visit the burn lab daily for debridement and is unable to use his hands or move his arms. His pain is even harder to manage because he suffers from another underlying life-threatening condition. He needs help in every single aspect of independent care, which is something I spend time each day doing for him.

Our Need:

We are thankful that he is in a hospital that has a top-rated burn care unit, but his road to recovery is expected to be long, with an unknown discharge date. Rob is our primary, and only, provider at the moment because I chose to become a stay-at-home mom for our three neurodivergent children. Caring for them, teaching them about community, and pointing them to Jesus is the honor of my life. But, if you’re a fellow mom raising precious neurodivergent babies, you can understand the trauma my oldest children experienced from a sensory and emotional standpoint, and the long road towards stability and recovery our family has ahead of us.

Our future is as uncertain as the length of my husband’s hospital stay. We cannot begin to fathom the medical costs associated with this tragedy, and all the other daily expenses we will deal with through this dreadful time, like: insurance deductibles, ambulance, and uncovered expenses related to the fire and smoke damage (cleanup), meals and parking while in the hospital, medical/surgical bills, any uncovered recovery costs from skilled nursing or a home health nurse once discharged, and any uncovered medical equipment or supply costs once home (gauze, wraps, ointments, sleep position assistance, etc.). This doesn’t even touch our normal monthly expenses like our mortgage, bills, food, gas, etc. Just in health and homeowner’s insurance deductibles and the ambulance ride, we are already $7,000 in. For me to simply visit with my husband, parking is up to $22/day and meals are approx. $15/day, which rounds up to about $1,200 a month. This doesn’t include childcare costs for our 3 children.

To say we are all shocked and overwhelmed is an absolute understatement. Our children will forever remember the sight of seeing their father catch fire, hearing and seeing the explosion, and hearing his screams of help. They will remember what it felt like to see the flames threaten to enter their home, the feeling of being frozen and trapped inside the house, and what it was like to see their father taken away by ambulance…wondering where their mother and younger brother were.

It is because of all of this and the absolute horror and devastation of the situation that our friend suggested we provide a way for our friends and family to support us, near and far. Honestly, this is going to devastate us. The associated costs and deductibles alone are more than we can carry, but add in the fear of what astronomical number we will receive on our hospital bill…and we are buckling under the weight of it all. Add onto all of this that we are currently displaced due to fire and smoke damage to our home and won’t be allowed back until remediation makes it safe to do so. Also, our children are traumatized and do not want to be reminded of what they saw by seeing the charred remains of the debris in our driveway. This has been our most challenging journey together as a family. The unknowns make all of this even more difficult.

We are so thankful for the men and women who stopped to help, brought fire extinguishers to hold the fire at bay till fire and EMS arrived, and who have reached out to offer help. It’s like Mr. Rogers said, "My mom used to say, when the news is scary, look for the helpers." And so the helpers are what our family is depending on to get us through this tragedy.

I want to thank you for helping me to share the honor of supporting my husband and children through all of this. I am still in shock, to be honest, and we are all just taking it day by day. But I know with our community surrounding us, we will get through this together. We are humbly asking for any help you can offer—whether it’s a prayer, a donation, or simply sharing our story. Every little bit helps as we navigate this painful journey. Thank you for your love and support during this unimaginable time. God bless you all abundantly!

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2 NLT).

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).

With Much Appreciation,

The Rech Family