MONROE - Grace Bouers is about to get some help from her friends.
Bouer and her granddaughter, Brittany Popanz, escaped a fire at Bouer's home at 215 21st St. around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Popanz discovered smoke from the fire when she opened the basement door.
Bouers said she and her granddaughter took their dog and left the house and called the Monroe Fire Department from a cell phone.
Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said there was moderate damage to the basement and smoke damage to the first floor of the residence. The house is uninhabitable.
That led family friend Norm Howe to create a benefit fund for Bouers at Woodford State Bank.
"She's been giving all of her life," Howe said. "It's time for her to receive."
Diane Phillips at Woodford State Bank has been an acquaintance of Bouers' for years.
Phillips said donations can be dropped off at Woodford's banks in Monroe, South Wayne, Woodford, Argyle and Blanchardville. Donations also can be made out to the Grace Bouers Benefit, P.O. Box 766, Monroe, WI 53566.
Howe said the fund is a savings account, and the bank will transfer funds to a checking account whenever Bouers requests money to pay for an item.
Firefighters from Monroe, Monticello and Juda were at Bouers' house for five hours Tuesday night.
An estimate of the damage and a cause is not yet known; the fire remains under investigation.
Bouer and her granddaughter, Brittany Popanz, escaped a fire at Bouer's home at 215 21st St. around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Popanz discovered smoke from the fire when she opened the basement door.
Bouers said she and her granddaughter took their dog and left the house and called the Monroe Fire Department from a cell phone.
Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said there was moderate damage to the basement and smoke damage to the first floor of the residence. The house is uninhabitable.
That led family friend Norm Howe to create a benefit fund for Bouers at Woodford State Bank.
"She's been giving all of her life," Howe said. "It's time for her to receive."
Diane Phillips at Woodford State Bank has been an acquaintance of Bouers' for years.
Phillips said donations can be dropped off at Woodford's banks in Monroe, South Wayne, Woodford, Argyle and Blanchardville. Donations also can be made out to the Grace Bouers Benefit, P.O. Box 766, Monroe, WI 53566.
Howe said the fund is a savings account, and the bank will transfer funds to a checking account whenever Bouers requests money to pay for an item.
Firefighters from Monroe, Monticello and Juda were at Bouers' house for five hours Tuesday night.
An estimate of the damage and a cause is not yet known; the fire remains under investigation.