AN ELDERLY Irish man will be able to spend Christmas in the comfort of his own home after the local community worked together to rebuild his house.
Tom Hill, 74, almost lost his home to a house fire in October of this year, and only escaped with his life thanks to a neighbour banging on his window and alerting him to the blaze.
The fire took hold in the kitchen, and the entire interior of the house was damaged before firefighters were able to quench the blaze.
The Roscommon man's house was not insured, and he faced having to pay tens of thousands of euro for a full replacement of electrical, plumbing, doors, windows and furnishings-- but the local community stepped in to help.
⚠️⚠️⚠️We are almost there ....... 3 days til T is back in his home ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Long day for some of our volunteers working...Posted by T Hill House Restoration Fund on Monday, 14 December 2020
A GoFundMe was set up to help Mr Hill, hoping to raise "enough funds to get T back in the comfort of his own home before Christmas", with the pensioner staying with neighbours until the work could be completed.
'T Hill' with some of the community members who chipped in to help rebuild his house (Image: T Hill House Restoration Fund / Facebook)Now, with just days to go until Christmas, the organisers behind the fundraiser have announced that, thanks the generous donations of the community, enough money was raised to get the work done.
Local tradespeople and businesses also donated their time, equipment and experience to fit the house with everything needed-- such as plumbing and electricity-- and 'T Hill', as he is fondly known as in the community, is now back in the comfort of his own home.
The countdown is on. Busy weekend for the volunteers. Less than 1 week before T can return to his armchair. Thank you...
Posted by T Hill House Restoration Fund on Saturday, 12 December 2020
A spokesperson from the House Restoration Committee confirmed the happy news in an update on the GoFundMe page yesterday.
"We would like to thank the local businesses and tradespeople who generously offered materials and their time and skills," they said.
"Due to the success of the fund raising we are now able to terminate the fundraising."
"T is back home for Christmas thanks to all of you."
You can find out more about the work the community put in to help Mr Hill rebuild his house by visiting the T Hill House Restoration Fund on Facebook here.
