CHANHASSEN, Minn — A beloved daycare teacher from Chanhassen was left homeless after an explosion and a fire destroyed her home on Sunday.
This isn't how Lynn Livingston imagined the holidays.
"They said the only thing holding it together is carpet," she said, describing her floor. She explained that a fire erupted shortly after she heard a hissing noise.
"I had kind of paused and a few seconds later, there was a boom," she said. "And then everything around me raised and went back down. I grabbed my phone and ran downstairs. As I was going down the stairs, I saw flames coming out of my furnace room."
Like that, Lynn was left with the pajamas on her body and her cellphone. All the memories inside the home of her late mother who passed away in August, and of her dog she said goodbye to just on Friday were gone.
"Mom was a picture person, there were a lot of pictures," Livingston said. "It's just devastating."
News spread fast about Lynn's predicament at her work place. Her work as a daycare teacher for the past 30 years started coming back to her as the news went around. Community support poured in from all over.
As an educator, Lynn gave her life to giving and teaching others. Now was a chance for her to receive a little love back.
"It's a weird feeling, it's uncomfortable," she said with a smile. "But it's amazing and my cup is overflowing. I don't know how else to say it. I'm just blown away by the kindness and generosity and the thoughts and prayers."
A Gofundme has been set up to help Lynn get back on her feet. You can find that here.
Lynn said fire officials have not identified the cause of the fire.