Family thanks community for support after losing home in blaze

A family who lost their Armadale home in a fire earlier this month thought things couldn’t get worse, until tragedy struck again. Now, their local community is doing everything they can to help.

An Armadale family who lost their home in a devastating blaze have described the outpouring of community support.

Samantha Taylor was visiting family in Hong Kong when she got the call from her husband Ben on December 8 telling her their house had been engulfed in flames.

It’s believed an electrical fault sparked the blaze.

She said the entire community had rallied to get behind the pair and their young daughters.

“They were just so lucky to get out alive,” Mrs Taylor said.

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Police in Stonnington donated toys to the Taylor family after the family's home burnt down and was then burgled. Picture: supplied

Samantha Taylor and with daughter Isabella, 9. Picture: Penny Stephens.

“We really feel so lucky to live in the community we live in. We’re really just quite overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness.”

A GoFundMe, set up by local mums Genevieve Gowland, Sarah Monahan and Christie Kelso, has already raised over $17,000 of a $30,000 goal.

Things went from bad to worse for the family when their home was burgled the very next day, taking Christmas presents and a family heirloom watch worth more than $60,000.

“The weird thing is, that almost felt worse than the fire. The fire is something that happened, it’s an accident,” she said.

Samantha and Ben Taylor say the community has rallied around them in a time of need.

“But we’re already down, that was a massive kick.”

Ms Gowland — who knew the family through her daughter’s school — said she was “devastated” for the family when she heard the news.

“It was devastating. We’re very local. It’s a close knit community. The actual flames were visible to lots of the community,” she said.

“I wanted to try to rally support in the community in the most impactful way possible.”

Ms Gowland said anyone looking to help could contact them via the page.

Thankfully, the family have just been approved for a rental property. While the family has a way to go in terms of getting back on their feet, Mrs Taylor said the love of her community had made a world of difference.

“It really makes a big difference, knowing we have all those people out there who really care about us.”

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