Local family publishes children’s book after house fire
Warwick. The book, “The Fire,” can be purchased online through retail outlets such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Warwick /
| 15 Dec 2023 | 04:43
The Zaborskis family survived an early morning fire and hope to help other children cope with the trauma through their new book.
The cover of Cassandra Zaborskis’ children’s book, “The Fire.”
In February 2023, a family on Big Island Road in Warwick experienced an unthinkable trauma: an early morning house fire caused by a faulty boiler.
While the majority of the damage was contained to the basement, the house filled with smoke, covering everything with a toxic layer of soot. Cassandra and Paul Zaborskis, along with their three young children, were temporarily displaced, resulting in significant stress for them and their little ones.
According to Paul, who works as a firefighter with the FDNY and a RN, the children woke up to the sound of the fire alarm going off. “They had soot on their faces and smoke in their lungs,” he recounted, “The walls, ceilings, and all furniture had damage. We were out of the house for approximately three months while the house was decontaminated and a new boiler was installed to get heat back on. We are happily back in the house now but still find residue from time to time.”
Paul added that the fire and smoke were contained thanks to the work of the Warwick Fire Department.
A fire can be a traumatizing experience for anyone, but Paul noted that his daughter, who was just five at the time, became particularly stressed from the incident. Luckily, there was some emotional support on the horizon for the Sanfordville Elementary School student. Paul told The Warwick Advertiser how his five-year-old’s kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Tilton, helped her cope with the trauma by encouraging her to express her feelings through drawing. His daughter ended up drawing several scenes of that memorable night, which inspired Cassandra, who is also a registered nurse for Elevance Health, to write a children’s book about the fire from their daughter’s perspective.
“I cannot put into words how proud I am of my wife and how much this book means to our family,” Paul Zaborskis said. “My hope is to give my wife the credit she is due for her amazing work and spread my daughter’s story in hopes that it could possibly help another child, heaven forbid they ever have to go through something similar.”
Cassandra’s book, aptly titled, “The Fire,” is available through Amazon (and Kindle), Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Quora, Litsy, Blurb, Bookhunt, Bertrand Russell, and Walmart. The couple also runs a small business called A Creative PACE, where they create unique, personalized items through laser engravings (available on Instagram, Facebook and Etsy).