Over a hundred people are picking up the pieces after losing their homes in a major New York City fire. One of them is comedian Jacklyn Uweh, a former star of the sketch comedy YouTube channel Smosh.
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Uweh posted about the incident on her Instagram in a lengthy post.
“First off, I’m safe and my cats are safe. On 6/13, my building caught on fire. Not on my 2026 bingo card. Not even on my New York bucket list,” she explained. “If you’ve ever been displaced, it is incredibly jarring and traumatic.”
She went on to share that she wasn’t in her apartment when the fire broke out. Arriving at the building, she found firefighters and police, “but they were wrapping up.” Before going up to her apartment, Uweh “sat in the lobby.”
However, the fire wasn’t actually contained, and began to spread throughout the building. According to Uweh, the blaze went from a 2-alarm to a 5-alarm “in about 30 minutes.”
As many people with pets do, the comedian said that she had a plan for getting herself and her cats out of their home in case of an emergency. But since she wasn’t home when the fire broke out, she was unable to get to them at first.
Uweh listed all the things she was “unprepared” for as a result of the fire, including the damage caused by putting out the fire. Days later, residents were allowed back into the building for an hour to “grab essentials.” But Uweh made it clear that there is no timeline for making another trip.
“I feel like I’m floating,” she wrote. “My apartment has been my safe space while I’ve dealt with all the other NY obstacles I’ve faced. I am safe, but I don’t feel secure.”
In closing, Uweh shared that several of her friends convinced her to start a GoFundMe.
“Anyone who knows Jackie knows she’s the kind of person who shows up for the people she loves,” the fundraiser says. “She’s generous, resilient, endlessly funny, and somehow manages to find the humor in almost any situation. Even so, starting over after something like this is overwhelming.”
According to local Queens, New York outlet QNS, the fire took place on June 13. A total of 84 units were affected by the blaze. The Red Cross registered 49 households, which includes 124 adults and 19 children.
As of June 16, an investigation into the fire was ongoing. FDNY marshals were working to find a cause for the blaze, and no arrests had been made.