TIVOLI, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Tivoli community is coming together to support a long standing member of the community after a devastating fire earlier this week. The blaze, which happened early Monday morning, destroyed her home and claimed the lives of over a dozen of her cherished animals.
"I walked out from my living room to my kitchen and I look to the right and see a great big ball of fire, right outside my dining room window, it was a chicken coop on fire, oh my god, oh my god, you know?" said Virginia LaBarbera, the homeowner.
LaBarbera, who many know as Ginny, managed to escape and warn her brother who was still inside. Once crews arrived, they were able to rescue him from the roof and continued fighting the blaze for around seven hours.
The fire not only destroyed LaBarbera's home, but took the lives of many beloved animals.
"I lost my kids. I don’t care about the house, I don’t care about the material stuff, my children, my children, I lost my children," she emotionally recounted.
Ginny is the type of person everyone in Tivoli knows. She's lived in her family's home for decades and was a founding member of the village's rescue squad. In the face of devastation, the community she's assisted for years is now returning the favor.
"She always had our back, you know my brother and I would run around and if we were in trouble, Ginny would come get us. Everybody’s really really stepped up," said Marc Hildenbrand, first assistant chief of the village's fire department and a long time friend.
The small village of just over 1,000 people has already come together to raise more than $30,000 in a matter of days.
"She’s a unique, very special woman, so yeah, whatever we can do to help. Sometimes small community’s have to ask outside the community for help, and that’s what we have to do right now," said Jeremy Davidson, one of Ginny's neighbors.
And assistance hasn't just come financially. Caskets have been built for the animals lost in the fire, neighbors have offered her shelter and friends continue to pick her up in person, as they did Thursday morning.
"I’m so amazed that so many people, and the GoFund, and everybody wants to offer this and that. It’s amazing, it’s amazing. I never asked for nothing," LaBarbera said.
Monday's fire was the latest tragedy in Ginny's life, just months removed from the passing of her brother and sister. Despite the recent hardships, her positive attitude and resilience are inspiring.
"I’m gonna rebuild my home. I’m not going anywhere else but Tivoli. I’ll die here in Tivoli. I didn’t die Monday morning, I love Tivoli. I will rebuild," she said.
In a Facebook post about Monday's fire, the village fire department linked to a GoFundMe page to raise money for the rebuilding effort, a cause that's generated just over $30,000.
Anyone hoping to assist in other ways are encouraged to message the Tivoli Fire Department's Facebook page privately.
The cause of Monday's fire is still under investigation. The blaze was believed to have started behind the house in a chicken coop before spreading to the rest of the structure.
