Help for 8 Orphans Who Lost Home in Fire

A St. Petersburg Police officer and the Coquina Key Neighborhood Association have joined forces to help a struggling family rebuild their lives following a Saturday fire that left eight young boys and two adults without a home.

The electrical fire broke out at the McDermott family’s 4440 Pompano Drive S.E. home around 3 a.m., the Tampa Bay Times reported. While no one was seriously injured, the family lost everything.

The McDermotts are no strangers to tragedy. The children, who range in age from 1 to 12, lived with their adoptive grandmother and aunt following the death of their parents, the Times reported. Most of the children in the home lost their mother two years ago to illness. Their father died two months ago. The rest of the children belonged to the father’s sister. She was shot and killed in 2007, the paper reported.

The children’s uncle David McDermott and his wife, Samantha, have provided financial support through the tragedies, but they need help getting the family back on its feet following the fire.

That’s where Officer Lee Santiago and the neighborhood association come in.

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“With less than three weeks before Christmas, the McDermott family home was completely destroyed by an electrical fire,” Santiago wrote on a GoFundMe campaign page that has been launched for the McDermotts. “ Having lost both parents in recent years, the 8 young boys now live with their uncle and are struggling during this holiday season. Our wish is to raise money to help bring Christmas to this family.”

The hope is to raise $20,000. So far, nearly $12,000 has been donated to the cause. The children are Noah, 1, Isaiah, 2, Jayden, 4, Ethan, 7, Franky, 8, Anthony, 8, Daevon, 10, and Trayvon, 12.

To help the family get back on its feet, visit the GoFundMe campaign page online.

Image via Shutterstock