Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

The house where Karen Fogarty lived on Packard Road was heavily damaged by a fire that broke out early Monday morning.

Update: The Fleetwood requests that people wishing to make a donation either go to the fundraising webpage on FundRazr or call 313-989-6903 instead of calling the restaurant.

• Previous story: Ann Arbor residents escape house fire when passerby alert them

Karen Fogarty was working at the Fleetwood Diner in downtown Ann Arbor early Monday when she got a terrifying call from a stranger.

“I had to run out the door because they called me and told me my house was on fire and I had to come home right now,” she said.

The caller, who had happened by the home and discovered the fire, reassured her that her daughter and fiancé, who were both sleeping when the fire broke out, were OK. Unfortunately, the house and all their belongings were not.

“We lost everything,” she said.

Everything includes their furniture, clothing, at least $700 in cash and music memorabilia including signed posters, original photographs, records and a 12-string guitar. To make matters worse, they don't have insurance, she said.

Fogarty said the interior of the home, 3325 Packard St. in Ann Arbor, is a mess. Six inches of wet ash are covering everything. Some items, including a television, melted from the heat, she said.

One of their two pet cats is also missing. Firefighters found one inside the house and brought it out, but Fogarty isn’t sure what happened to the other one.

Their biggest problem now is finding a place to live, Fogarty said. The Washtenaw County chapter of the American Red Cross has provided them lodging for three nights in a hotel and gave them $400 for food and clothing. Other people also have come forward to help, including the Fleetwood, where Fogarty works as a waitress. The restaurant is accepting donations of cash and household items.

Fogarty’s fiance, Peter Grobner, 51, said he and Fogarty’s daughter, Rosalyn, would likely have been in the home much longer had it not been for the couple who saw the fire, called 911 and banged on the door to wake them up.

Grobner said flames were shooting through the roof a minute or two after they got out. Firefighters said smoke detectors in the home did not appear to be working.

“It went really, really fast, but the firemen got there really, really fast too and put it out really fast,” Grobner said. “The whole thing was really, really fast and really scary.”

Grobner said firefighters told them the fire, which broke out around 1:30 a.m. Monday, started in the wall behind a bed in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters estimated damage from the blaze at $75,000.

Grobner said he’s not sure if it was the banging on the door or Rosalyn’s calls to him that ultimately roused him from sleep. Either way, he credits the couple, who told him they didn’t want to be identified, with saving their lives.

“That’s what everybody should do and they’re awesome people.”

To donate to the Fleetwood's collection for Fogarty, her fiancé and daughter, call 734-995-5502.

Contact Cindy Heflin at 734-623-2572 or email her at cindyheflin@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.