'It's hard when you lose everything'; Fire leaves family homeless.

Byline: Samantha Allen

WORCESTER -- A city woman left homeless with her children after a two-alarm fire ripped through her apartment last week said she's struggling to move on from the disaster.

Danielle Luby, 41, a Worcester native, said she is grateful firefighters were able to recover some of her belongings last week as her top-floor apartment was engulfed in flames.

Smoke billowed from the three-decker at 33 Wachusett St. as firefighters rushed in and out of the building Wednesday morning.

Officials saved an urn containing the ashes of Mrs. Luby's sister, a family photo and two of the woman's calico cats -- Kit Kat and Reese's. The pets were unharmed after firefighters found them burrowing in a bedroom mattress.

Mrs. Luby said she, her 24-year-old son, Arthur Wyman, and 15-year-old daughter, Nancy Luby, have lost everything else.

Nancy is a kidney transplant recipient and her medications were destroyed in the fire. Now the family is staying with a relative in Leicester.

Mrs. Luby has no car and it is a struggle getting to and from school and appointments in the city, she said.

"I just don't know what to do,'' she said Monday. "I need an apartment that will be convenient for my child to go to (Worcester Technical High School), and so my son can go to work and not worry about taking five buses and spending money that I honestly don't have.''

Ten people were displaced by the fire. Mrs. Luby said she believes the other tenants have since returned to their apartments, which sustained water...