7 On Your Side helps family after tragic house fire
MOHEGAN LAKE, New York (WABC) -- A fast-moving fire tragically reduced a family's home to ashes burning up all of their memories and medication desperately needed by their two sons.
The Palmiotto family tried for several days to get the prescriptions refilled, and that's when Nina Pineda and 7 On Your Side stepped in to help.
Hours before the fire gutted his home to ashes and destroyed everything, 10- year-old Nicco Palmiotto was blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.
But luck was not with the Palmiotto family that night, just after celebrating they were all at their oldest son's basketball game and the unimaginable call from a neighbor.
"She's like your house, your house is in flames" mom Erika Palmiotto said. "And I'm like what are you talking about and she's like your house is burning down it's on fire."
"There was a lot of smoke up there," Nicco said.
"It's a full gut, between the fire and the smoke and the hose from taking the fire down. Everything's gotta come out," dad Mark Palmiotto said.
The fire started in the kitchen consuming all the contents, but it was what was inside one of the cabinets that they needed the most.
"All the medication was burned," Mark said.
A lifeline for Nicco and his little brother Enzo who both take four different pills a day.
"They are both autistic and have ADHD," Erika said.
Their mom tried to get an emergency refill the day after the fire.
"I went to the pharmacy they said we can't help you have to call the insurance company," Erika said. "It was whole back and forth we weren't getting anywhere. I was told I had to pay out of pocket costs, $600. We are displaced, we have no where to go we have nothing."
And every day they went without their medication, both boys were getting worse.
"Especially him, he's off the walls," Mark said. "He doesn't know how to control his body. He doesn't understand he can hurt himself hurt someone else."
By the end of day four with no medication a nurse practitioner friend told them to call 7 On Your Side.
Nina and the team got involved on a number of fronts by talking to their pediatrician and the health insurance company.
Their doctor re-sent the emergency refill, and the insurance company was able to lift that payment block.
Within hours, the kids were back on their dosage all the medications refilled, replaced and covered.
Giving the Palmiotto family some sense of normalcy again in the midst of this disaster.
"Thank you so much it took us four days you did it in less than a day," Erika said.
And the entire community also came together to help house cloth and feed the family.
Even their dog Rocky, who was rescued from the flames by firefighters, is recuperating.
"There is no words we could never repay or say thank enough to everybody here," Erika said.
A GoFundMe has been created to help the Palmiotto's get back on their feet after the fire.
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