Community steps up to help Norwich family after fire

Blaze at 19 Lorenzo St. destroyed house, but no one was injured

Norwich — More than $17,000 has been raised to help a Norwich couple who lost their home and all of their belongings when a fire engulfed their house Saturday.

The couple, lifelong Norwich residents Lori and Dino Ricafranca, narrowly escaped the inferno, which appeared to have started somewhere in their home at 19 Lorenzo St. No one was injured in the blaze, but the couple were displaced indefinitely.

Lori Ricafranca already had gone up to bed when her husband checked their security cameras about 9:30 p.m. and saw flames billowing through the first floor, according to family friend Kimberly Kreft.

City firefighters and units from all five of the city's volunteer departments responded and found fire throughout the house. It took 90 minutes to get the blaze under control.

“It got a good head start on us,” Norwich Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Merchant said at the time.

The couple, both Electric Boat employees, ran outside in their pajamas and stood on their lawn, looking on as their home burned and firefighters tried to control the flames. The house, Kreft said, had been home to Lori Ricafranca's parents and had been in the family for decades.

“The fire took family pictures, and the life Lori and I built together with our kids,” Dino Ricafranca said in a statement. “We stood with only the

clothes on our backs to watch true heroes work to put out the fire.”

In the days following the fire, Kreft set up a GoFundMe account to help the Ricafrancas recover from the fire and replace some of their belongings, such as clothes, shoes and toiletries.

First, she set the goal at $5,000. After quickly exceeding the goal, she increased it to $10,000. By Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $17, 085 from 106 donors.

“They lost a lot, a lot of sentimental things, including the house itself,” Kreft said. “It’s devastating but we can replace a lot of it and we’re just glad they’re OK.”

Dave Konicki, the couple’s supervisor at EB, said that the Lorenzo Street home was the

“only address Lori has ever known.” In the fire, she lost a lot of keepsakes, family heirlooms and some of her mother’s jewelry, he said.

In addition to the GoFundMe, Kreft said local businesses have stepped up to help. The Walmart in Groton allowed her to print hundreds of photos for free. She made her friends a new wedding album and re-printed photos of many of the couple’s favorite memories.

Platinum Inc. Salon in Norwich donated hair products that were lost and Big Y donated a $50 gift card, Kreft said. A local veterinarian also donated an urn to replace the one that held the ashes of their dog, who had recently died. The dog’s ashes were lost in the fire.

Kreft said she started by replacing clothes, photos and personal products to help her friends “feel human again and have some familiar things around.”

The Ricafrancas also lost their cherished collections, Kreft said. Lori, she said, had purse and shoe collections that she treasured. The couple, huge Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fans, had a lot of sports memorabilia and lost many collectable items and autographs.

The Ricafrancas are active in the Norwich community. They belong to a bowling league and regularly support local businesses. To help them couple recover, Konicki is organizing a fundraiser that will be held on March 7.

Konicki, who is manager of Electric Boat security, said he decided to host a fundraiser to help his employees in a time of need and lighten the mood with entertainment and support for the couple, who he said are “really, really great people.” He said he has worked with Dino for more than 25 years.

“When you have someone who has worked for you for that long, you develop a friendship,” Konicki said. “We’re like a family here and in this time of need we at EB all pitch in and come together and support one another, and this was an opportunity to raise some money to help them get their feet under them again.”

The fundraiser will run from noon to 6 p.m. on March 7 at the Norwich VFW, 30 Connecticut Ave. Food will be served, a DJ will provide music and raffle items will be available.

Kreft said that the Ricafrancas “are very touched and in awe of the overwhelming support they’ve received.”

Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Montoya said Wednesday that there were no updates on the cause of the fire. The investigation was ongoing.