Community rallies around family in Barker who lost home in fire

BARKER, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A local family has lost everything after a devastating fire left their Barker home as a pile of debris. The community is now rallying around them to help them pick back up the pieces.

Every Sunday, Hal Hawley can be found at Highmark Stadium, but last Sunday was anything but routine. Instead of preparing for the Bills game, he was racing to save his home from a fire that turned his life upside down.

“That night, I tried going to sleep and every time I'd go to sleep, I'd wake back up thinking I was in the middle of the fire,” he said.

As Hawley was preparing to attend the big game, he realized how cold it was outside and decided to charge the batteries to his heated gloves and socks. He soon started to smell smoke and went outside to check if his neighbors’ homes happened to be on fire.

Moments later, he realized it was his own. 

“I went upstairs and the whole bed was involved already and I watched it jump from there to the curtains,” Hawley said.

He got his wife out of the house and told her to call 911. Hawley, who is also a volunteer firefighter, grabbed a fire extinguisher from his garage and headed back upstairs. 

“The smoke was just so thick and being a fireman, I knew that it was probably toxic because the mattress was burning, and so I just turned around and went outside,” he said.

The only thing left for Hawley to do was watch the home he had lived in for over 20 years be burned to the ground. He said the hardest part was watching things that were irreplaceable be stripped away in the blink of an eye.

 “My mother did oil paintings and they’re all just gone,” Hawley said. “It didn't mean anything to anybody but me.”

Michelle Englert, a longtime friend of Hawley, says she was shocked when she learned the news. She said it hurt knowing this happened to a man like Hawley. 

“He's the most kind,” Englert said. “He would do anything for you, you call him, he'd be there at your doorstep.”

Englert knew she wanted to help, so she set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Hawley and his wife. 

Hawley said the response from the community has been overwhelming. Besides donations to the GoFundMe, he and his wife have received gift cards, clothing and a place to stay.

His plan now is to restore a property he owns in Lockport for himself and his wife to hopefully live in one day.

“We believe that God will take care of us and that’s what keeps us going,” Hawley said.

The GoFundMe, which can be found here, has already raised just over $3,000.