Staff photo / Bob Coupland Donald Durkin of Girard holds his 8-month-old son, Daniel, on Sunday at a fundraiser at Margherita’s Grille in Girard to raise funds for his family who lost their home and belongings in a fire in February.

GIRARD — The community came together Sunday at a fundraiser to help a Girard couple and their 8-month-old son, Daniel, who lost their home, car and most belongings in a fire last month.

Donald Durkin and Brittnee Bullen said they were overwhelmed and appreciative of all the help they have received since the fire. A dinner, basket raffle and other fundraising efforts took place at Margherita’s Grille.

Charlotte Carpenter of Girard, one of the event organizers, said Margherita’s donated all the food and funds raised from Sunday’s event to the couple. The restaurant workers came in on Sunday, when the restaurant is normally closed, to volunteer their time to prepare the food.

Carpenter, of the Girard Community Co-Op, said she has worked with Sassy Savings to bring the community together to help the family.

“The community has really come together to help the family. I have never seen the community step up to help so quickly. We are trying to get them into their own place. We all stepped up to help the family hours after the fire. We had the back of a vehicle loaded up with diapers, wipes, baby formula and clothing,” Carpenter said.

Bullen, who was holding her son and visiting people at tables, said, “We appreciate it so much what everyone has done to help us. We lost everything.”

She said the Feb. 11 fire was caused by an electrical wire on the back porch of the home. The family lost their pet cat, which they could not find and it is believed did not make it out of the house.

Bullen said they lost Daniel’s birth records and special items about his birth

Durkin lost many of his work tools. Carpenter said the couple was staying at an Airbnb and is looking for a permanent place to live.

“Right now, we are only taking monetary donations. We received many clothing and other items, which were appreciated, but there was no room for them at the airbnb,” Carpenter said.

She said Alexis Sigurani, owner of Sassy Savings, hosted a GoFundMe page for the family and collected $8,000. Sigurani also was able to get donations and purchase items for the family.

Bullen’s parents and family have helped them as well. Durkin’s parents are deceased.

Durkin said after staying at the airbnb, he and Bullen are now in an apartment at a funeral home owned by a friend.

“Right now, we are looking for a house. We want to make sure we have what we need for the baby,” Durkin said.

He said they lost all their belongings, including furniture and appliances. Durkin said firefighters determined a light connected to a plug on the back porch had a wire that came into contact with patio furniture and caused the cushions to burn.

“I got Brittnee and the baby out of the house and then tried to hose down the fire on the back porch, but the hose was frozen to the ground because it was so cold. I then was trying to find the cat, but couldn’t find him,” Durkin said.

He said the family’s car, which was parked next to the house at the time of the fire, also was destroyed.

Jorge Carreno, owner of Margherita’s, said the employees wanted to help the family and spent the weekend preparing food for 200 people.

“We are donating 100% of all the money raised to help them. We are donating our time and whatever else we can,” he said.

Carpenter said the event raised approximately $3,800 from the sold-out event of 200 tickets, a basket raffle of many items and a 50/50 raffle.

“We appreciate all the workers at Margherita’s who came out today for free to help do all of this to support us,” Bullen said.

Another fundraiser is planned noon to 5 p.m. March 29 at East Side Civics, 968 E. Midlothian Blvd. in Youngstown. The event will include a 50/50 raffle and a basket raffle and meal. Adults are $15 and kids are $7. Sausage sandwiches are $6.