Over €37,000 has been raised for a family of six from Kerry whose house was destroyed by a lightning strike last week.
Shocking photos show the devastation caused by the strike, which occurred in Caragh Lake, Muingaphuca, on Sunday, January 8, leaving the property completely gutted.
Four members of the Fenton-Toms family were at home when lightning hit the building, causing the roof of the property to go up in flames.
They were lucky to escape alive from the blaze but they lost their home and all of their belongings. To make matters worse, the family have since been told their home is under-insured by €75,000.
The community has rallied around the family and so far, over €37,520 has been raised through a GoFundMe page for Joe and Marie Fenton-Toms and their children Ciara, Niamh, Niall and Aoife, following the shocking incident.
The fundraiser was created to help the family of six “start from scratch” after everything they own was destroyed.
Organisers of the fund, who call themselves ‘Friends of Fenton-Toms’, wrote on the page: “Any donation big or small is so welcome at this extremely challenging and highly emotional time.
“Everything needs to be replaced, like clothes, underwear, medications, and so much more, which isn't covered by insurance.”
They are, however, thankful that no one was hurt in the incident. They said: “While we, their friends, are very grateful that there was no loss of life, they have lost all their possessions.
“We would like to raise some funds, to try and get them back on their feet.”
An update posted on January 10 said: “The insurance assessor came today, and because of the price of building materials etc going up because of Brexit, Covid, Ukraine war, they are underinsured by €75k, (this is an initial estimate).
“This has further devastated them. Let's do what we can to help.”
The most recent update, issued yesterday, January 11, said that the family are “so humbled” by the support so far.
“They are in awe of people's generosity and are extremely grateful,” the update said.
Over 855 people have donated to the fund, with many leaving messages of support for the family.
Donations can be made to the ' Killorglin Family Fenton-Toms lost their home ' GoFundMe page.
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