Vivienne Gucwa and Chris Del Gatto spent Christmas in an Airbnb vacation rental this year. Their home was destroyed after a fire engulfed a Sunnyside apartment building last week.

“I saw smoke coming out of the door frames of other units. So I started knocking on the surrounding doors to get people out,” Del Gatto said.

“There was a lot of smoke. There were a lot of elderly people that had walkers. One woman was in a wheelchair. So we tried to get as many people as possible,” Gucwa added.

Gucwa and Del Gatto were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire. The FDNY says a contractor used an illegal torch to remove lead paint off a door in the apartment directly above Gucwa and Del Gatto's.

“We would really, really like all of the entities involved. Whoever were the people that hired the contractor, whether that was the management company or the super, I'm not sure who it was. I would like them all to be held liable,” Gucwa said.

On Christmas Eve, the couple was allowed back to their apartment for just 30 minutes to retrieve any belongings that may have survived.

“Our Christmas tree survived, which makes no sense to me, but it almost felt worse when we went in, because it was sort of like, 'Oh yeah, it's Christmas and we just lost everything,'” Gucwa said.

Gucwa is an artist and Del Gatto is a recording engineer.

“We grabbed our laptops, but they were soaking wet,” Del Gatto said.

All of their supplies and tools were destroyed. But Gucwa’s engagement ring survived, creating a bright light in a dark time.

“So we we were going to wait to have a wedding, but we decided after the fire, that why wait? Why wait? So we just signed our marriage license last night on Christmas,” Gucwa said.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for the couple. Over $35,000 was raised as of Tuesday night.

The couple is staying at an Airbnb rental until early February, but after that, their future is uncertain.

The American Red Cross says it has helped over 200 people that were affected by the fire.