For one La Mesa family, the true meaning of the holidays and how others help those in need is shining brightly this season.

A fire in the early morning hours of Dec. 14 at a home near Maple and Homewood in La Mesa destroyed Monie and Michael Muldoon’s residence.

According to family member Jerry Jones, a friend of the Muldoons for some 25 years and a neighbor for 12, the blaze took the home that the couple had for some 40 years. As a result, family members started a GoFundMe account to help recover some items in the residence. The couple lost nearly everything and the residence will not be inhabitable for a long time to come. 

Jones went on to say that fire investigators believe the blaze began outside and quickly reached the home’s man cave, likely on the wall where there was a fair amount of memorabilia. Investigators think there was an electrical issue of some sort. The couple, their three small dogs, and their bearded dragon were in the residence when the fire occurred.

Michael was woken up by the cracking and popping of the roaring fire, and then the bedroom window breaking, which let the flames rush into the home. The same cracking and popping that woke up Michael, also woke up Conor Muldoon, their youngest son who lives across the street. Before firefighters got on the scene, the son raced across the street to help his parents. With the power out and the house full of smoke, he had to guide his disoriented mom out of the burning residence.

Monie Muldoon, who spent the night in the hospital with her husband following the fire, is no stranger to helping others.

She has been a special education teacher at Highlands Elementary School in Spring Valley for more than two decades. She also started Monie & Mo’s food pantry right out of her residence to help in providing food for her hungry students. Lastly, the Muldoon’s are known to have weekly Sunday dinners, which translated into their home was open to anyone wishing to visit, eat, relax and enjoy each other’s company.

According to Jones, the outpouring of support from the community and beyond has been quite uplifting.

Many folks have contributed to the GoFundMe and left comments like: “Thank you for providing such a beautiful gathering place (pictured in happier times) for so many years.”, “I loved the Sunday evening family gatherings when I visited San Diego.”

Community members have also offered support through meal trains, animal boarding, and other supplies.

“This is a tough time for Monie and Michael, but the love and support has been incredibly meaningful to them,” Jones went on to say. “They are so grateful for all that the community has done. They want people to remember to always be thinking about how they can give back to the community. Not everyone in need has a GoFundMe. There are many organizations focused on those in need (like the Monie & Mo’s food pantry) and any and all support from the community goes a very long way.”

According to Jones, the Muldoons don’t want to forget the firefighters from Heartland Fire & Rescue.

“Two of our La Mesa stations responded to the fire, and the family has told me numerous time how amazing they all were. They helped prevent a much greater loss for Monie & Mo’s pantry.”

As Jones rightly pointed out, “We are so incredibly grateful that more wasn’t lost that night. While we all lost this space, we were so much closer to losing these amazing people than we first realized. Please hug your loved ones, especially this holiday season.”