UPDATED: Local Families Raising Money To Support Victims of House Fire

A fund has been set up to help out the family of four who escaped from their home when it caught fire Wednesday, creating an orange glow and smoke that residents all across the North shore reported seeing.

Anne Egan Waukau, her husband and two children made it out safely, but are now living in a hotel while they work with the insurance company. Anne's daughter, Hillary, attends  and is a goalie on the JV2 soccer team. Will is a seventh-grader at .

A family friend shared a note on Facebook that the family doesn't need "stuff," but rather financial support at this time. They are staying in a hotel and working with their insurance company, but to help with the family's day-to-day expenses the Anne Egan Waukau Fire Fund has been set up at WEA Credit Union at 33 Nob Hill Road, PO Box 8003, Madison WI 53708-8003. 

The home at 530 W. St. Johns Ct., near Bradley and Port Washington roads, caught fire around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and firefighters say when they arrived, more than 50 percent of the two-story home was already engulfed in flames.

"We were getting called from all over on how big the glow was in the sky," Batallion Chief Rick Boehlke said.

"There appeared to be an electrical problem because crews were getting zapped," Boehlke said. "So, we had to wait for the utility company to arrive to pull the power. We weren't sure what was shorting where, but that delayed getting inside."

The family told police they heard a loud boom and when he went to check out what made the sound, he saw the flames according to a press release from NSFD. Everyone made it out safely, however, the family's two cats passed away. 

The fire department is still investigating to find the cause but believes the fire began in the garage. The initial structural and content damage estimate is around $325,000.

Bayside resident Rebecca Troeller of Bayside was driving through the area and had heard about the fire. She drove past the home and said seeing this kind of damage makes her think twice about her own family's safety.