Outpouring of support shows Sidney a ‘pretty good place at its heart,’ fire victim says

SIDNEY — An outpouring of support in the form of money, clothes and kind words has convinced one of the victims of Tuesday night’s house fire on South Miami Avenue that the city of Sidney “is a pretty good place at its heart.”

The fire, which remains under investigation, forced James McCauley, his wife and their three children from their home. Their next door neighbors -- a husband, wife and two children -- have been displaced as well. Everyone but McCauley and many of his neighbor’s pets safely escaped the flames. McCauley was at work when his wife called to report that “everything was gone.”

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“Everyone in the almost immediate area has been helpful,” McCauley told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis on Thursday evening, noting that neighbors across the street took in his family and gave them “literally the clothes they had available.”

McCauley directed much of his thanks to a man he has yet to meet -- Jerrod Pahssen, a Sidney resident who told News Center 7 he was compelled to do something for the fire victims because he has a relative who was victimized by fire.

Pahssen told News Center 7′s Lewis that he published a post to Facebook announcing that he wanted to start a donation drive for the affected families on South Miami Avenue. Wednesday, he held the drive at a city park and was overwhelmed by the response, which included everything from toys to clothes to two gift cards, each valued at $500.

People are continuing to reach out to him to let him know they have donations, Pahssen told News Center 7′s Lewis on Thursday.

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“This community really will bind together when they need to,” he said. “They will be there for people when in need. So like I said we found out there was not a whole lot of assistance programs in this area so to see the outpouring of support from the community for these families is just unbelievable.”

McCauley, when told about Pahssen’s displays of good will, said the two gift cards evoked “happy tears” from his wife and his neighbor’s wife. They are still trying to process what happened and the healing for both families has been hampered by them having to tell the story of what happened over and over again to insurance adjusters, the Red Cross, other assistance organizations and reporters.

“At some point I would like to sit down and shake the man’s hand,” McCauley said of Pahssen.

“It’s those kind of good Samaritans we absolutely adore,” McCauley said, speaking of Pahssen, the people who donated the gift cards and everyone who has taken the time to donate to the two families.

Residents near and far are helping families affected by this week’s house fire in Sidney

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