Local Resident Starts Fundraiser For Police Officer Whose Home Was Damaged in Fire

A local resident recently started a fundraising campaign to help a New York City police officer whose Smithtown home was damaged in a fire earlier this week.

The fire broke out early Sunday morning at the Brooksite Drive home of Slawek Mikolajuk, starting in the garage before spreading to the second floor of the home.

Firefighters worked from both the exterior and interior of the home to contain the fire to the garage and rooms above it.

According to the GoFundMe page started by Matthew James, Mikolajuk, his wife, and two small children managed to get out safe but they lost a great deal of personal items, some of which cannot be replaced.

"To add insult to injury Slawek just recently finished renovations throughout the entire home that he did mostly by himself, now, which has severe smoke and water damage," he wrote on the page. "[He] has been a Police Officer for 10 years and has devoted his life to helping and serving others, he currently works in the Emergency Service Canine Team and now needs our help."

The goal of the page is to reach a total of $10,000 for Mikolajuk and his family. In just two days, the page has raised a total of $7,440.

To read more or to donate, visit his GoFundMe page here.

Photo: Smithtown Fire Deparmtnet