Community comes to aid of Cuyler family that lost their home to fire

CORTLAND, N.Y. — The communities of Cuyler and DeRuyter are coming together to help a family that lost their home in a fire Sunday night.

Firefighters were called to a home at Pease Hill Road in the town of Cuyler Sunday night for a reported structure fire. They arrived to find the house was in flames, though no one was home at the time.

"I found out the next morning, through an acquaintance," said Amy Randall, a friend of the family. She decided to start accepting clothing donations at her house, located at 1581 Cortland St., DeRuyter.

The CoalYard tavern in DeRuyter has also set up a donation site, where they are accepting cash, checks, and clothes.

"DeRuyter and Cuyler are very close together," said Ruthann Stone, co-owner of The CoalYard. "Most people in Cuyler go to the DeRuyter Central School District. One of the little boys that lived in the home was in my granddaughter's class.

"They're both small towns. Everyone knows everybody, so everyone wants to help out, especially around the holidays," Stone added.

A GoFundMe page has also been created to raise money to help the family get back on its feet.

Here is a list of items the family needs:

Little boy: 5 shirt and size 6 pants
Girl: size 6/7 pants and size 6/7 shirts
Girl: size 8 pants and size 8/9 shirts
Boy: size 8/10 shirt, 8 pant.
Shoe sizes: girls 1 and 3, boys 9 and 10, woman 8 1/2
Women's: XL shirts and size 13/14 pants
Men's: 32x34 pants and XL or XXL shirts
Hats, Mittens, gloves, snow pants and coats, etc.
Toys, blankets, household items