Fort Bliss couple on honeymoon returns home to devastation after apartment fire

While on their honeymoon, a Fort Bliss couple received a call from the Shadow Ridge Apartments letting them know their apartment caught on fire and everything was destroyed.

Lauren and SPC Keenan Johnson lived on the third floor of the Shadow Ridge building that caught fire. They didn’t know the extent of the damage until a friend who was watching their dogs told them. They lost everything. Wednesday was the first day they say their apartment in person.

“It was surreal honestly. Driving here, back from our honeymoon, I kept telling myself ‘this is just a dream, this isn’t real’ and actually witnessing it in person it’s on a different level,” said Lauren.

The Johnson’s told ABC-7 they lost Lauren’s wedding dress, their wedding memories and pictures, her grandmother’s earrings and all of “their firsts were burned to the point that it is not salvageable.”

Lauren told ABC-7, “There were stories behind everything that we got together, and we’re going to have new stories to tell, but nothing will replace it.”

They also lost their birth certificates, marriage license, and all of Keenan’s military gear. All they have left is a suitcase full of clothes they took with them on their honeymoon.

They said they are struggling to find the funds to afford anything.

“All we can do is hope that life will work itself out, that we are going to grow from this, we are going to become stronger for this.” Lauren added, “At one point, it won’t be this bad. It’s only uphill from here.”

If you would like to donate to their GoFundMe account, click here.

Local cleaner volunteers to restore wedding dress for other couple whose home was destroyed in the fire.

Joshua Segovia from Custom Cleaners & Laundry is volunteering to restore the wedding dress of Kathryn Willhite.

“I’m just thankful for them to give us the opportunity to help them out. I know we don’t know them personally, but you just know what they’re going through, you just have to feel that pain,” said Segovia

Kathryn and her husband, Gerrick, were planning on going to their honeymoon the Friday after the fire ripped through the Shadow Ridge apartments.

She said Willhite was able to grab both of their passports, but sentimental items, like her wedding dress, important pictures, electronics and vital documents were all destroyed.

Segovia told ABC-7 he went to the apartment complex also with some discount vouchers for the families affected.

For the full story, click here.

For the Whillhites GoFundMe, click here.

El Paso firefighter loses home after apartment fire.

Nicholas Guzman is a firefighter for the El Paso Fire Department. Nicholas and his wife are asking the community for help so they can start over again after a fire destroyed their home.
Nicholas told ABC-7, “Even the smallest gesture can go a long way.”

For their GoFundMe account, click here.

Fire rips through Shadow Ridge apartments, destroys entire building

An early morning apartment blaze caused a partial building collapse and injured five people before El Paso firefighters were able to get it under control.

The large fire happened Saturday morning around 3:30 a.m. at the Shadow Ridge Apartments in the 9300 block of Viscount. It took fire crews over an hour to get control of the blaze.

Two of the five injured were taken to local hospitals, where there was no immediate word on their conditions. The other three victims were treated at the scene.

Firefighters also rescued two dogs from the blaze; the pets are currently being cared for by Animal Services until the owners are found.

Fire officials have not yet released a cause of the fire.