Mother of 3 devastated after losing Hill District home in fire

PITTSBURGH — A single mother of three is trying to restart and rebuild her life after a devastating fire destroyed her home in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

Shamika Darby said she was out of town on April 10 when her neighbor’s house caught fire -- and quickly spread to her home on Memory Lane.

“The ceilings were all blown out. It was a lot of water damage. My daughter lost her room completely,” Darby said. “We lost furniture, clothes, shoes. I mean basically everything that we had. I was able to save some stuff and the rest of the stuff I just had to get rid of it.”

Darby told Channel 11 she didn’t have renter’s insurance. And even though she gets government assistance, she has been in a hotel since the fire. Now, her savings are almost dried up.

Darby started a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to help out financially until she gets back on her feet.

“I haven’t been able to go to work, my finances (are) running short,” she said. “My support system is very, very weak. I mean, I just need help.”

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