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On Wednesday, April 19, at around 5:30 p.m., a Bellmore residence on Judith Drive caught fire for unknown reasons.
The neighboring home also caught fire as the house was engulfed in flames. Even though volunteer firefighters from multiple neighboring areas arrived at the scene within minutes, the two houses suffered severe damage.
Soon after the fires had been doused, a neighbor who lives across the street from the two houses set up GoFundMe fundraisers for each family, the Lis and the Rambarans.
"Standing in the living room, watching them look out the window crying at their homes being destroyed, I thought I'd be burned into my memory forever. It was awful," Amy Werner Tsagouris, who created both fundraisers, told Daily Voice.
The family – consisting of mother Grace, father Max, Max's mother, toddler, and newborn – were reported to be safe.
The Lis were preparing to open a bubble tea business in town, Tsagouris said. However, as they were storing the supplies in their home, it, too, was taken by the fire, along with personal documents.
Now, they are living in a small hotel room, as their house is unsalvageable and will need to be completely demolished and rebuilt.
Similarly, Tsagouris wrote on GoFundMe that the Rambaran couple were at home when, “before they could blink, the home was up in flames."
One commenter on the Li’s GoFundMe page wrote, “These are neighbors in need...Let’s all help!”
And help they have.
In the first four days, the Rambaran fundraiser has raised over $4,000, and the Zhang family campaign has raised $10,300 ($300 more than their $10,000 goal) – proving the power of community.
"You know, both of [the families] gave birth in these homes," Tsagouris said. "So, for them to have lost everything...it was an incredible thing to see how the community really sort of connected to that."
In addition to the GoFundMe donations, the neighborhood sprung into action, organizing a donation drive within days.
Though the drive ran for only two hours, Tsagouris said the community gathered enough supplies, toys, diapers, and other items to fill up a storage unit they secured for the families.
"We were invaded with items, Tsagouris remembers, "People just came in droves with suitcases and boxes and bags of toys."
Even the North Bellmore fire department chief came to the drive, she said, even though, "as if fighting the fire wasn't enough."
Tsagouris said the support was "pretty spectacular to see."
For now, the families are both figuring out what to do next -- but it's apparent that, even though they've lost so much, they are not alone. "We'll try to help support them in any way that we can."
To donate to the Li family, click here.
To donate to the Rambaran family, click here.
For any inquiries about coordinating physical donations, Amy Werner Tsagouris has made her Facebook page available to message.
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