A donation collection site started Monday for a family that lost everything in a fire in Selkirk on Friday. People were already waiting to give before the doors even opened.

The Selkirk Fire Station No. 1 on Maple Avenue had a lot of foot traffic as people stopped by to drop off all kinds of things. The call for help went out, and this community is answering that call with generosity.

The fire on Friday on River Road in Selkirk destroyed the Arnold family home, which they owned for years. 

A heap of debris is all that’s left. The items that they cherished are gone.

It was the home of Kelly Arnold, a Coeymans police sergeant who is described as the glue of the department.

Her husband, Michael Arnold, had just returned from four months doing hurricane cleanup in Florida.  They have a 10-year-old daughter, and 9-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. The family had three dogs, and they lost one in the fire.

They are starting from scratch now, and friends and strangers alike are coming in with everything from clothing to shoes, to toiletries.

A GoFundMe for the family reached its initial goal in less than 24 hours. At last check, it was at almost $36,000.

Dedicated volunteers are helping to sort through the donations.

Organizer Jessica Seaburg-Wagner is a fire commissioner with Selkirk. Their community is their source of strength, she said.

“I am very dedicated to the fire service. I lost my dad in the line of duty in 1997 with our department, and this was my response,” she said. “This community helped me and my mom and my sister get back on our feet, and I have to help the Arnolds get back on their feet. As I said, our son played baseball with their dad. My husband was in the ladder truck the night of the fire trying to help save what he could.”

The donation drive continues from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Selkirk Fire Station on Maple Avenue.