LI Man Who Lost All In House Fire Gets $15K Donation From Nets Player

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — A Southampton man who lost everything he owned in a fire last month — including his beloved cat — saw a generous donation from someone he'd never met recently, a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

Basketball player Kyrie Irving donated $15,000 to Joseph Casony's GoFundMe page, "Bradstock Chief Loses Everything in House Fire" which was created by Brendan McCurdy.

Irving has been busy donating to GoFundMe pages: A post on Nets Daily.com on Dec. 21 said he had given at least $383,000 to nine people, including the $15,000 to Casony, as well as three gifts of $22,000 each to another family that lost their home in a fire; another person from California seeking funeral expenses; and an artist hoping to honor Iranian protestors.

For Casony, the gift was one of many, including donations from family, friends, neighbors, and those who he participates with each year in the "Bradstock" music festival — an annual two-day Labor Day event, raising funds for a good cause — that have blessed his life even after the unthinkable fire stole years of precious memories.

"Joseph Casony, Bradstock Chief, father of two daughters, music lover, and friend to so many suffered a terrible loss when his home was destroyed by a catastrophic fire," his friend McCurdy wrote on the GoFundMe page. "He lost everything and tragically his cat died as well. All he has are the clothes on his back and his truck."

Casoney, who his friends call Joejo, had lived in a small cottage near the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club property for many years.

"How can one even imagine such a calamity, especially during a season in which we look forward to spending the holidays at home with family and friends? Let us reach down as deep as you are able and give to help Joejo get back on his feet. Every little bit will help," McCurdy wrote.

A fundraiser for Casoney, "Jam for JoeJo", featuring five bands, will also be held at the Patchogue Theatre on Thursday, Jan, 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Firefighters raced to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club property on St. Andrew's Road and County Road 39 in Southampton to extinguish a blaze that gutted the home on Dec. 20, officials said.

The fire completely shut down County Road 39 for three hours as a 5-inch hose was stretched across the roadway, Chris Brenner, public information officer for the Southampton Fire Department, said.

According to Brenner, the call came in at 12:50 p.m. for the fire at the home on the golf club property.

The 1,000 square-foot building was a "total loss," Brenner said. Thankfully, Casony was not home and was at work, and was not injured, although he lost his cat, Abigail.

Remembering that dark day, Casony — who is now also battling COVID — said he'd had his cat for about a year-and-a-half. "She was just really starting to open up to me," he said. He'd adopted Abby when a friend's mother passed away. Abby, who was 10, "had no place to go. I just put up my hand and said, 'I'll take her,'" he said.

On that last morning, it was if Abigail knew those early morning moments at 5:15 a.m., before Casony headed to work, were their last, he said. "She cuddled me in a way that she's never done before," he said.

Later that day, Casony, who was at his job in construction, was at lunch when he heard the sirens. At first, he had no idea where the firefighters were heading. When he got back to his office, he heard on the radio about the road closure.

Soon, he heard that the fire might have been near his home, so Casony left work and drove back. When he called 911, dispatch told him, "You might want to get over there," he said.

He spoke to his daughters, who also wanted to race over to help, he said. When he got to his street, Casony spoke to the fire chief. "I told him,' I'm the caretaker here. I live in the cottage.' He told me, 'The cottage is gone,'" Casony said, breaking down in tears. "He said my cat was dead."

He added: "I just hit the ground. It gets emotional, when I talk about it. I just leaned up on the telephone pole and said, 'It's gone. It's all gone.'"

His daughters — despite the fact that he'd told them not to come — were at his side as he stood by the smoking ruins of his home. "We ran down the driveway and hugged. They were taking Abigail out. It was rough," he said.

Casony, who had no renter's insurance, lost all he owned. "Everything is gone," he said. Over the years, he'd collected vintage vinyls and thousands of concert posters, a testament to his love of music. "The cottage had a vibe that was just incredible," he said. "And I'll create it again."

From the moments of acute grief came an outpouring of love and support that Casony said has filled him with hope. One friend, who'd also gone through a fire years ago, called to offer support.

"The love poured out from the community," Casony said. "The donations have been incredible."

The donation from Irving, the Nets player he's never met, was "the wildest thing," Casony said, one that filled him with gratitude.

While he hasn't yet been allowed back into the cottage to see if anything survived the blaze, Casony said at least one box of photos under his bed was salvaged; his birth certificate and Social Security card, which had been tucked in a cookbook, were also intact.

There were moments of mercy: "On the day of the fire, the fire marshal was there and I asked him if he'd mind looking in a corner, where there was a blue box with my father's ring. I lost my father four years ago," Casony said. "He found it. I got my father's ring back."

Casony is currently living at a friend's house for three months. "I'm hoping God opens something up that I can afford," he said, adding that most of his work is in the Hamptons, so he would like to. continue to live on the East End.

His faith is a buoy keeping Casony afloat.

"I love God," he said. "He's got me on a good path, moving forward," he said. "I have strong faith."

These past weeks have been filled with deep emotion. "On New Year's Day, I was sitting at a diner with a friend, just staring into nowhere. She said, 'What's going on in that head of yours?' I broke down, thinking about the reality of getting into a car and going to a place that's not home."

Casony also realizes how lucky he is to be alive. If the fire had happened in the middle of the night, he likely could not have gotten out in time, he said.

Despite the anguish of losing all he owned, there is also incredible gratitude. "I've been going through every emotion at once, with the tragedy of losing everything but at the same time, and also, watching the tremendous outpouring of love from the community," he said. "I've been crying tears of joy every day."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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