A Facebook campaign has begun to nominate a Lisbon Falls family that lost their home and two of their daughters in a fire two weeks ago for a spot on the ABC show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
Firefighters fight a fire at the Hogan home at 34 Summer St. in Lisbon Falls on March 4.
On March 4, sisters Natalie Hogan, 11, and Kelsey, 6, died in a fire in their home. Their mother, Lorna Hogan, suffered smoke inhalation and was treated for burns trying to save the two girls. The Hogans' four other children escaped without injury. The second floor of their home was badly damaged in the fire.
On Sunday evening, the Extreme Makeover staff posted on their Facebook page that they are looking for "deserving families in Maine" to be nominted for the show, either by posting on their Facebook page or e-mailing them. Shortly after, nominations for the Hogan family began dominating their wall and their discussion page.
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is a show where a television crew comes to the home of a family in need to rebuild their run-down house with "several opinionated designers, celebrity guests and seven days."
As of 3 p.m. Monday, there were 270 comments on the post and more than 200 discussion topics nominating them.
Tracy Tibbetts of West Paris was one of the first people to comment on the 'Extreme Makeover' page to nominate the Hogan family for the show. A fan of the show, she saw the request for Maine nominations on her Facebook feed and thought of the Hogan family.
"As soon as I went back to reread it that it was definitely Maine families they were looking for. I knew that the Hogan Family could surely use this," Tibbetts wrote via e-mail. "My heart breaks for the family. I have a 3 year old daughter and I just can't imagine anything happening to her. I can't even begin to imagine how the family must feel losing two children."
Even though she was the first to comment, Tibbetts said she did not organize a campaign. "I made the comment and then it just seemed to take off from there. I did not send it on to anyone ... I do not know them personally. I am just really touched by the support they have received so far and the fact that two children were lost in the fire just touched my heart even more."
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