We, the victims from the Feb. 16 fire at 355 Augusta Ave., would like to thank the DeKalb community and the university for your support and concern for our welfare.

Often when tragedy strikes, the capacity to recognize, accept and acknowledge proffered empathy and many forms of support is unintentionally obscured by the immediate shock of personal loss.

Most importantly, no one was hurt in the fire. For this we are thankful. One firefighter was slightly injured fighting the blaze, and we thank him for his efforts and wish him a speedy recovery.

We received a veritable wave of empathy and support from many individuals and organizations. We would especially like to express our thanks and heartfelt gratitude to the following persons and organizations for their assistance during and after the fire:

The DeKalb and Sycamore Fire Depts.

The DeKalb Police Department

Donald Buckner – Director of Housing

Barbara Henley – Acting Vice President for Student Affairs

Gary Gresholdt – Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

Dr. John Niemi – Department of Adult Education

City of DeKalb Bldg & Code Enforcement – Bill Nicklaus, Rick Monas, Mark Lovett, and others present

Don Henderson and Students’ Legal Services

Jack Style—Holmes Student Center Security

The Northern Gas Co.

Commonwealth Edison

The Salvation Army

Sharon from the Baptist Church

Laura Stillman

Michelle Frankel

Understanding professors, their depts., and our employers

The hotel desk workers at HSC

The women at 345 Augusta Ave.

The guys across the street

The woman who left us a lottery ticket

All friends, family, and loved ones

And lastly, anyone that we should have mentioned but haven’t—thank you all for your help.

The 24 former residents of 355 Augusta Ave.