Sharon Pastori was sound asleep in her bedroom when a passerby pounded on her door and woke her at 2 a.m. Dec. 7.

That unidentified passerby's actions probably saved her life — her house was engulfed in flames.

Pastori was home alone while her daughter and two grandchildren were visiting family up north.

"Flames were coming out of the roof," Pastori told The Times. "A truck driver was on Route 116 headed to Pontiac and he pounded until he woke me up. It was just me and my dog, a doxie, so we were able to get out."

The fire appeared to be electrical in nature. The night before, Pastori said a fuse kept blowing out and popping, and she'd planned to call an electrician the following day.

The family lost everything in the fire. They are staying with Pastori's sister and her family.

"All Ihad was what Ihad on when Iwas trying to get out of the house," Pastori said. "There were some things we were able to pull out, but they were so badly charred that we threw them out."

Lauren, 11, owned an American Girl Doll she received for her eighth birthday and carried with her nearly everywhwere. The doll was damaged in the fire, but Pastori said American Girl offers repair services, so the family is hoping the doll can be fixed.

Lennon, 12, is a Green Bay Packers fan, and some previously purchased Christmas presents for him were lost in the fire.

Meanwhile, the community has donated clothes for the family and an account has been established at Flanagan State Bank to assist the family in getting back on their feet.

For now, Pastori's primary goal is to find a place in Flanagan to rent so her grandchildren may continue attending Flanagan Grade School.

"Right now I'm just desperately trying to find some place to live," she said.




Want to help?

Contact Flanagan State Bank at 815-796-2264.
Make checks payable to Flanagan State Bank and mail to: 124 S. Main, Flanagan, IL 61740.
Checks can be made payable to Flanagan State Bank with a note in the memo for the Pastori family.