Donations pour in for Watertown family that loses home to fire, injuring two children

November 9, 2023
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.–A big outpouring of support for the Bruckner family of Watertown following a fire that destroyed their home at 525 3rd Street Southwest early Wednesday morning, and left two of their children hospitalized.

The fire gutted the home and left the Bruckner’s two youngest girls, ages 7 and 5, in a Twin Cities burn hospital where they’re in stable condition.

Melissa’s sister, Nicole Pratt, quickly set up a GoFundMe page for the family on Wednesday.

It began with a rather modest goal of $10,000, which was quickly reached.

Since then, more donations have poured in, and as of Thursday morning, more than 270 individual donors had committed more than $42,000 for the family.

The fundraising goal has been pushed to $75,000.

If you’d like to help, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bruckner-family?fbclid=IwAR1oB1s3XMw9ul-py1WYzjlE354hefUZrustSU8RkO8G3JE7-5czhAgDF0A