Canonsburg collects donations for fire victims
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Food, toiletries and clothing were donated to the victims of Sunday’s apartment fire on Summit Avenue in Canonsburg.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Volunteers at First United Methodist Church of Canonsburg help sort through a roomful of donations for the victims of Sunday’s apartment fire on Summit Avenue in Canonsburg.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Volunteers at the First United Methodist Church of Canonsburg sort through donations for fire victims.
People in Canonsburg and across the region donated an abundance of clothing and money for the victims of an apartment fire Sunday on Summit Avenue in the borough.
Before the scene was cleared of emergency crews Sunday evening, people started collecting donations for the families.
Stacy Rhome, daughter of Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome, said that as she listened to the scanner traffic that day for updates on the fire, she decided to do something to help. She posted on Facebook that she’d collect any donations for the approximate 30 fire victims at Sam’s Pizza.
“I knew that this fire was going to be terrible,” Stacy said in a recent interview. “People started coming with full carloads of stuff.”
People came with clothing, toiletries, shoes, food and money. The entire basement of the pizza shop was filled with donations by the following day. Someone donated a U-Haul to provide additional space for the donations. After three days, they had to tell people they couldn’t take anymore donations.
“I can’t believe my little post about it exploded the way it did,” Stacy said. “Living in Canonsburg is like being in a big family. If something happens, we all rally.”
The fire destroyed about 21 units of the apartment building, causing approximately $1.5 million in damage. Crews from 10 area fire departments battled the smoke and flames for six hours. The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause, which is believed to be accidental.
The Red Cross also responded to assist the residents, none of whom were hurt in the fire, though some of them lost all of their belongings.
When Stacy’s donation drive took off, her father asked the First United Methodist Church of Canonsburg if they could use their facility to store the donations. The church members were happy to oblige.
Volunteers with the church sorted through the donations and contacted the victims to invite them to come pick out whatever they needed. Some came in Friday to pick up some items.
Phyllis Pirnik, a member of the church, said that while many of the tenants told her they didn’t need anything, all of them were very grateful.
“When there’s a need, people really come through,” Pirnik said.
They also received about $350 in cash donations for the families. The borough set up an account at the Clearview Federal Credit Union on East Pike Street in order to continue collecting monetary donations. A GoFundMe account set up by Dayna and Chuck Yeager earlier this week raised more than $1,500, which they said they’d be moving to the Clearview account.
While the borough is no longer accepting household items, Rhome still encouraged people to donate to the account with checks or money orders made payable to the Canonsburg Lions Club with the words, “Summit Avenue fire victims,” in the memo line.
“The generosity from the community and surrounding areas has been incredible, and we are grateful for the support,” Rhome said in a news release. “Recovery is a slow and costly process, so if you are able, monetary donations are also appreciated to help with relief efforts.”