LYNN — Lynn residents raised more than $30,000 this week to support those displaced from the fires on Chestnut Street last Friday.
On Friday, March 31, a fire that started in the driveway between 109 and 111 Chestnut St. spread into both neighboring houses. For more than five hours, flames burned through the roofs of both homes, displacing 12 residents in total.
Phaleen Keo, a friend of the Son and Em family that lived at 109 Chestnut St., created a GoFundMe page on Saturday, April 1 to raise money to help the displaced family replace their belongings and stay financially afloat.
“They have been in this home for over 20 years and will be facing a long and difficult road to recovery,” Keo wrote.
The family, which includes two teenagers, a 10 year-old, a 2 year-old, and an elderly woman, were brought to safety, but were unable to salvage most of their possessions.
By 3:15 p.m. Friday, April 7, 307 donors had raised a total of $27,850 through a variety of donations ranging from $5 to $600.
On Sunday, April 2, Neyssa Rosado created a separate GoFundMe page for Denise Payano, who lived on 111 Chestnut Street with her son Alex. As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, the family had raised $2,640 from 40 donors.
“Even though few lived there, the house was made a home with years of our family’s memories. We are all deeply hurt from this,” Rosado wrote.
Fire investigators are still investigating the fire’s cause, District Fire Chief Joseph Zukas said Friday afternoon.
