NORWALK, Iowa — Waukee South Middle School teacher Jennifer Ghelf, Valley High School shop instructor Dean Lange, the couple's daughter, Faith, and their three dogs moved into their new home in the fall.
But on Sunday, amidst frigid temperatures, the family lost their home to a fire.
Ghelf said she was about to go outside to shovel snow when her daughter Faith stopped her and said she smelled smoke inside.
The fire alarms started blaring, and just as Faith had said, smoke fumed from around the house's fireplace.
Ghelf tried to extinguish the fire with a blanket, but it was no use, she said. Instead, Ghelf, her daughter and their dogs went outside to safety. Ghelf called 911, and Faith called her father, Lange, who had been picking up supplies in West Des Moines for the robotics team he manages at the school.
Faith reassured her father she and Ghelf were okay, and Lange said he was on his way home.
Through the back roads, which were still covered in snow, Lange made it home while the house remained on fire, now with the Norwalk Fire Department fighting the flames.
After minutes of trying to save the family's home, fire officials deemed the house a "complete loss."
The family was unable to salvage anything through the burnt rubble. However, the family says they are beyond grateful to all be safe and together.
Now, they live with friends in a townhome as they try and figure out what to do next.
"It's a lot," Ghelf said. "But because of all the support we have, whether we realized we had it or not, we're getting through it a day at a time right now."
In the days that have transpired since Sunday's fire, Ghelf's coworker started a GoFundMe page to help provide funds for the family to rebuild their home in the future.
As of Thursday night, the fundraiser is just a couple hundred dollars away from hitting the $40,000 goal.
Among those who have donated are current and former students of the teachers, who have spent decades working in the education field.
"We have our biological children, but we've also got thousands of other children that we would never turn away," Lange said. "We've said many times over, that you know if something were to happen to their family, they'd be living with us too. And so that just really hasn't changed."
The family is still processing everything, but are optimistic for their future with the immense support they have not only received from their friends and family, but those who share their story on social media as well.