Fundraiser Started To Help Family Who Lost Home In Fire

EAST PATCHOGUE, NY — The Patchogue community came together to raise over $19,000 in just a few days for a local family who lost their home in a devastating house fire last weekend.

The Hagerman Fire Department responded to the blaze on Corbin Avenue in East Patchogue Sunday morning. Members from the Bellport, North Patchogue, Patchogue and Medford Fire Departments also responded to the scene.

Firefighters battled the fire for over an hour.

Following the incident, local resident Jessica Repetti started a GoFundMe page on behalf of the family, the Claudio's, who she says lost everything in the fire.

"If anybody knows the Claudio family knows they’d give the shirt off their backs," she wrote on the page. "The Claudio’s are the most welcoming people you will ever meet. This home has been a home to so many throughout the years, myself included."

Repetti started the fundraiser to help the family pay for expenses and deductibles to get them back on their feet.

She set a goal of $25,000 for the family, and in less than a week, the page raised a total of $19,295.

To read more or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.