UNION TOWNSHIP, PA—The community is rallying to help a Birdsboro-area family after their home and nearly all of their possessions were destroyed in a fire last week.
A GoFundMe campaign launched in the immediate aftermath of the two-alarm fire in Union Township on Friday morning surpassed the initial $5,000 goal within 24 hours, so the goal was raised to $10,000 over the weekend.
Organizers are well on their way to reaching that goal, with a total of more than $8,367 raised by Monday afternoon. Many of the donations were $10 to $25, but a few were as much as $1,000.
Part of what's fueling the drive is that one member of the household is a volunteer firefighter who has sacrificed his time to protect and serve the community.
Firefighter Joseph Small and his fiancée, Kelli McCardle, live with Small's parents, William and Susan.
Joseph is an active firefighter with the Monarch Fire Company in Amity Township.
Monarch Lt. Rodney Wagner said Monday the fire company couldn't be more pleased with the outpouring of support.
"It's something we wanted to put together for him and his family to help them get back on their feet," he said. "He's one of our guys and he's always there for us, and we just want to be there for him."
All weekend, people were dropping off clothing and shoes at the Monarch station as well at Exeter Fire Department's Reiffton station. Joseph Small, whose family is staying temporarily in a hotel, was scheduled to pick up the donated items Monday evening at his home station.
It was an informal clothing driving, one of several forms of support that happened spontaneously. Someone also dropped off a new television.
Independent of those drives, the Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard store in Birdsboro conducted its own drive on Saturday for the Small family.
"It's really unbelievable how the community is coming together to show support for this family," Small said.
Fire crews were dispatched about 10:40 a.m. to the fire, but there was little they could do other than prevent its spread. Flames had spread to the roof by the time they arrived, said Assistant Chief Matt Hernandez of Birdsboro-Union Fire Department.
No one was home at the time.
A state police fire marshal is trying to determine the cause of the fire. A damage estimate was unavailable.
The American Red Cross Tri-County Chapter was called in to provide emergency assistance to the displaced residents.
To donate to the GoFundMe drive, search "Local firefighter loses house to fire."
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