Donations Pour In For La Grange Fire Victims

LA GRANGE, IL — For the second time in the last few days, La Grange is coming through for those in need. Perhaps it's the holiday spirit.

On Wednesday, a GoFundMe page was set up for the McLaughlin family, whose house at 241 S. Ashland Ave. was severely damaged in a fire a day earlier. Firefighters said a wicker chair caught fire from a nearby propane fire pit. A firefighter suffered a minor injury, but was treated on site.

As of Thursday morning, residents had donated $88,000 to the family. Hillary Renderman and Vickie Williams set up the GoFundMe page.

"We are so thankful they are all safe and want to say thank you to the community for all of the immediate support," Renderman and Williams said. "As they wait for insurance to rebuild, we are setting up this Go Fund Me to provide more immediate relief and to give others a way to contribute to their recovery. As this happened days before Christmas, we are hopeful we can make new memories for this family."

Eight people each gave $1,000. Some of them were anonymous.

A few days ago, a GoFundMe page was set up for Lyons Township High School senior Cole Lagowski, who lost his father earlier this month and his mother in April 2020. As of Thursday morning, nearly $160,000 had been raised.

Editor's note: Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.