Crime & Safety

Fundraiser Aims to Help Family Hit Hard by Fire

Renovations on the house were 99 percent finished and the family was scheduled to move into it this weekend, when it caught fire Monday night.

A fundraising website has been set up for the 

Gavin Gallagher is reaching out to the community from California to ask for donations to help get his brother, Garrett, and his family through the next year as they recover from their loss.

Garrett bought his home in Algonquin about a year ago and had been doing renovation work on the house, Gavin Gallagher said. Garrett, his wife and their 8-month-old son had been living up the street with his wife’s family until work on the house was to be completed. The house was 99 percent finished and the family was scheduled to move into it this weekend, but it caught fire Monday night, Gavin said.

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While officials still are investigating the fire’s cause, Gallagher said they think it likely started when a heater in the garage caught fire.

The house was insured, but some things destroyed in the fire were not covered, including the Gallaghers’ mother’s belongings, Gavin said.

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“My mother was to be a roommate in the basement and she had all of her possessions in the garage,” Gallagher writes on the fundraising website. “She lost everything she owned, including our little brother’s stuff. He passed away at the age of 21 on July 30, 2009."

The family needs to be able to purchase clothes, diapers, shoes, etc., Gallagher said.

"The money raised will go to my family as my mother is on unemployment, sister-in-law who is a stay-at home mother, and my brother as we are finding work."

Those interested in contributing via indiegogo.com, a transparent international crowd-funding site, should visit the family's fundraising page here.


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