By Nathan Willison, LNP, Lancaster, Pa. (TNS)
After his Lancaster County home was destroyed by fire Friday night, Joshua Gring could not have imagined the overwhelming support his family would receive from friends, neighbors, and complete strangers.
“I can’t even describe it. I love Lancaster,” Gring said. “The amount of people who have offered to help, it’s just amazing.”
Gring, who was operating his Lancaster Pet Bakery stand at Lancaster Central Market on Christmas Eve, said he, his wife Lindsay, and their two children were doing well following the fire.
“We know the worst is already behind us,” Gring said.
The family came home Friday night to discover a fire blazing through their home in Manor Township. Gring said he had rushed inside to let their pets out of the home, but unfortunately, the family’s cat did not survive.
A new home will have to be rebuilt from the ground up, with the cost covered by their insurance. Most of the family’s possessions were caught in the blaze, including Christmas gifts for their 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter.
For Gring’s son, one of the most painful losses was a large collection of Legos he had built in the family’s basement.
“He had built a whole city of Legos,” Gring said. “Just tables of things he had built. Losing that was hard for him.”
Their daughter lost her stuffed animals and a closet full of clothing.
If there’s a silver lining, Gring said, his children were having a good time putting together new Lego sets and trying on new clothes.
A GoFundMe for the family was set up by a loved one shortly after the fire. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had generated more than $91,000 for the family.
Katie-Marie Wilson and Clayton McKee, the owners of Ric’s Bread—which operates a stand at Lancaster Central Market directly across from the Lancaster Pet Bakery—organized a gift drive to replace the Christmas gifts and household items lost in the fire.
By Wednesday, the storefront at Ric’s Bread on Queen Street was filled with piles of wrapped gifts.
Esther Miller, an employee of Ric’s Bread, said the store has seen a steady stream of people dropping off gifts since Monday.
“It’s been friends of the family, customers and also just strangers who heard what happened,” Miller said. “It’s been tugging at people’s hearts.”
Gring said he and his family were grateful to the community at Lancaster Central Market, where they have operated the Lancaster Pet Bakery stand since 2002, and to the complete strangers who have donated to their recovery.
“I could never thank everyone who has helped us out,” Gring said. “But I want to do something to make sure our gratitude to the community is known publicly.”
The family is staying with relatives, Gring said, where they will celebrate a memorable Christmas together.
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https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/12/over-90k-gifts-collected-for-central-pa-family-who-lost-home-to-fire-i-cant-even-describe-it.html