 A fire to a duplex in Crosby last Friday has left one family starting from scratch again. Our Anthony Scott has more on the family story as they try to pick up the pieces. I got a phone call stating that my house was on fire. We had just gotten a Walmart and I rushed back home to find my house. Nothing but smoke. Jennifer Russell lives with her boyfriend, her daughter Amber and her stepson Dominic and after a fire destroyed their side of a duplex last Friday, the family was forced to start from scratch. The one thing I was able to say was my uncle Jerry's ashes and I was able to save a couple of pictures of my daughter but that's it. The Russell's lost everything from basic house appliances to clothes, furniture and most importantly their five dogs. That was the first thing I could think of was dogs and no one would tell me anything. Once you have an animal you bond with it doesn't become your family. Without renters insurance the family didn't know where to start but luckily Amber's cheer coach stepped up. So I immediately went into mom mode and took Amber shopping and which was fun because as a coach we got to bond and we made sure she had everything that she needed for the weekend and then I started reaching out to my fellow cheer families. At their next competition, Big Lake, Jackson County Central and Minnetonka Cheer surprised the Russell's with much needed donations of all kind. I gotta thank her coach Carissa 100 percent because whatever I have gotten won't be possible without her. The Brainerd School District has also helped the family and a table has been set up at the last two basketball games accepting donations. This has brought us all together and it's really shown that in a bad situation in a bad time throughout your life no matter what it is we're all going to come together. The family is still desperately in need of a washing machine and some cooking items among other things but Jennifer is just happy she still has her family. I'd be thankful that my stepson Dominic wasn't there and my daughter and no one was hurt. Jennifer also says that these things can happen to anyone and no one is immune to house fires reporting from Brainerd Anthony Scott, Lakeland News. The cause of the fire has not been found but if you'd like to donate and support the Russell family a GoFundMe has been set up and as mentioned in that story Embers Cheer Coach is also collecting items for the family. Links for how to donate can be found on our website at lptv.org slash news. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.