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Courtney Orton reportingA West Jordan neighborhood came together Saturday for a family that lost everything when the house they were renting caught fire earlier this week.
Four days ago the garage caught on fire and spread to the second floor of the home. The family living there lost everything. Saturday, neighbors stepped up to help, again.
Melodie Peterson, the woman who was renting the house, said, "Everybody was here that morning, just giving us blankets, hot chocolate and doing this. This is just amazing; it's just amazing to me that they're doing that. I'm just so grateful. We're all so grateful. We're overwhelmed by the kindness."
Peterson's sons, who were sleeping near the garage, woke up when they smelled smoke. They were able to get the rest of the family out of the house in time to save them.
Firefighters were able to put out the flames within 10 minutes, but the garage was destroyed and the rest of the house suffered extensive smoke damage.
Peterson did not have renter's insurance and hopes what happened to her will be a lesson to others who are renting. "I had no idea that it was as inexpensive as it was. And I would urge anyone that rents to get the insurance. If we would have had it, we'd have been able to recover most of what my kids had," she said.
Neighbors invited the community to come to the fundraiser, located at 5600 West and 6400 South. They cooked up hamburgers and charged $5 per person. They're hoping the money raised will help the family recover some of the items they lost. The fundraiser is over now, but more than a dozen people were there right when it started this morning at 10 o'clock. By the end of the day, more than 250 people showed up, and they raised about $2,000.
Cindy Gray, a neighbor, said, "You just can't help but want to reach out and help your friends any way you can."
"If something good can come out of something bad. This is it. Just knowing people care about us, means so much," Peterson said.
Neighbors have also set up a fund for the Peterson family at America First Credit Union under the name Peterson Family.
Melodie Peterson says she is grateful for everyone's support.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
