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Grosse Pointe educators lose everything in house fire after storm

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Posted at 1:50 PM, Jun 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-14 23:01:22-04

GROSSE POINTE WOODS (WXYZ) — Wednesday’s storms toppled down trees and power lines, especially in the Grosse Pointes. But for one family, the storm caused a fire inside their Grosse Pointe Woods home, destroying almost everything inside.

The husband and wife are beloved educators in the community. Now, Jason Bruveris and his family are trying to figure out what happened during Wednesday’s severe weather.

“Downed power lines in the backyard may have sent a ton of current in the home,” Jason said, adding that the chaos outside quickly made its way inside. “Then we noticed some lightbulbs had blown out.”

Jason, his wife Natalie and four kids ages, 10, 8, 6 and 4, quickly got out of the home. Moments after walking out, they noticed smoke. Their cell phones weren’t working so they could not dial 911.

“I’m running down the street, trying to flag down the fire department to have them try to save some of our home,” Jason said.

They’ve lived in the home on Hunt Club Drive in Grosse Pointe Woods for 12 years. Now, sentimental items are destroyed.

“The hand prints of the kids from when they were babies," he said. "Their pictures, things like that. We still don’t even know a quarter of what we lost.”

Jason Bruveris is an assistant principal at Dakota High School in Macomb Township. Natalie is a Kindergarten teacher at Monteith Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Woods.

When word got out about the fire, Natalie’s colleague helped set up a GoFundMe page.

In 10 hours, their tight-knit community raised nearly $60,000.

“People have been so generous. Natalie and I can’t say thank you enough,” Jason said.

Because many items were destroyed and since they probably won’t be able to move back in for months, they are hoping to raise $100,000. One thing is for certain, the Bruveris family is staying positive and thankful they got out when they did.

“Everyone is safe and healthy and that’s the most important thing by far," he said. "Everything else can be replaced in time.”

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