BRADFORD, Vt. — A family of five was displaced after flames tore through their South Main Street home Wednesday afternoon.
No one was injured in the fire, which was called in around 4 p.m. at a house at 893 South Main St., according to Bradford Fire Chief Ryan Terrill. The two parents and their three children, one of whom is an infant, were out of the house when firefighters arrived.
Police closed down the surrounding stretch of South Main Street as firefighters battled the flames for around 45 minutes, Terrill said. Firefighters don’t know what started the fire, but said that it began in a wall by the bathroom, near a wood stove, and that it’s not considered suspicious.
The home was uninhabitable following the fire, forcing the family to stay with friends or relatives nearby, Terrill said.
A Gofundme campaign was launched for the parents, Crystal and Tom Blakeney and their three children, asking for clothing, food, money, or “anything else you can afford,” with a target of $10,000. By Thursday afternoon, the page had reached over $5,000 in donations.
Maureen Foster, who launched the page Wednesday, said she works with Crystal Blakeney at the Bradford Veterinary Clinic, adding that Blakeney was at work when she got the call about her house. The loss is a big one for the family, who also have four dogs, all unharmed in the fire.
“Having three kids and working, all of that takes a toll on people,” Foster said Thursday.
Foster said there’s been a huge outpouring of support from the community, both through donations on the page and in person at the veterinary clinic. Since the page launched, around 30 people have dropped off everything from clothing and baby items, to Christmas presents to replace the ones the children may have lost in the fire.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or at 603-727-3216