Fundraiser set for victim of Brooke Park apartment fire

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – An emergency evacuation in the middle of the night, and Nikki Roberts escaped with her life.

“Heard some noise outside of my door and I opened my door and all’s I see is just red. Everything is red. There’s flames. There’s burning debris floating through the air,” described Roberts. “I just started grabbing my animals and got out.”

Roberts, who lived at the Brooke Park Apartments near the state line in Toledo said she lost all of her possessions in the fire, which destroyed all 8 apartments in her building at about 3:30 AM Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

Now, her friends are helping Roberts rebuild her life.

“So we decided it was time to help Nikki because starting over is not easy,” said Marcia Venia, co-owner of The Corner Saloon at Telegraph and Sterns in Temperance, MI. “Because she lost everything, she needs furniture, personal items, clothes.”

Venia is organizing a taco bar fundraiser for Roberts Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at 3:00 PM. It’s set to have karaoke, live entertainment, and raffles.

“All my friends, all my family, I couldn’t be more blessed than I am to have the people that I have in my life, and I can only hope that the rest of the people in the building have even half the amount of support that I have,” said Roberts, who is staying at hotel and getting support from her employer Devine of Sylvania Nursing Home.

If you would like to help, you can drop off donations at at Corner Saloon, 7403 S. Telegraph Rd., Temperance, MI, Timberwolf Tavern, 2604 Jutland St., Toledo, OH, Krieger’s Pub, 2150 W. Laskey Rd, or Gold Diggers, 2851 Tremainsville Rd., Toledo, OH

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