Community Comes Together To Help Family Displaced By House Fire

SOUTHOLD, NY — The close-knit Southold community is coming together to support a family displaced after a fire at their Southold home in November.

John and Grace "Gem" Sweeney and their three daughters Laura, Rachael, and Elizabeth have been unable to return to their home, where they've lived since 1994, organizers of a fundraiser said.

The fundraiser is slated for Friday, Feb. 8, 2019 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Southold American Legion; tickets cost $25 per person and are on sale now. The event will include music by The Bracken and Joe Allegue, a buffet, cash bar, a Chinese auction, a 50/50 and raffles.

Tickets will be available for purchase at Southold Pharmacy or Southold branch of Bridgehampton National Bank, or can be purchased directly from Rose Anasagasti by calling 631-236-3227, Don Bracken, 631-872-5370, Sonomi Obinata 917-601-9723, or Leslie Reichert, 631-745-0041.

The fire broke out in the basement of the family's Southold home on Nov. 7, leaving two injured and at least one beloved family pet, a cat, dead, according to fire department officials at the scene.

Peggy Killian, First Assistant Chief of the Southold Fire Department, said the call came in about the fire on Jasmine Lane at 11:23 a.m. The fire, she said, is believed to have started in the basement.

The fire caused an extensive amount of damage to the first floor of the home, Killian said.

Killian had a message for residents: "If there's a fire, close the door," she said. Residents should leave doors to basements closed, and close the door to their bedrooms at night, she added. "It can save your life," she said, adding that keeping doors closed also can prevent fire from spreading and gutting a home.

Southold, Cutchogue, Mattituck and Greenport Fire Departments responded to the scene.

Patch file courtesy Rose Anasagasti.