CALDWELL, Idaho — The Hartsough family of 5 says this tragedy has brought them together, and they are just blessed to have made it out of the house safe before it burned down.
A GoFundMe was created to help support the family during this hard time.
The Hartsough's say it’s a “blessing” to receive support from the Treasure Valley community, after their world flipped, and their house caught fire and burned down.
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“This whole situation is a bad situation but it’s brought out the best in us and truly brought us together,” said Jake.
While they’re thankful they got out safe, the fire burned 4 of their cars, including Joe Hartsough's work car.
“It’s how they get to the grocery store, it's how they get to school, it’s how he gets to work to take care of his family. So I don’t know if you saw the pictures but that thing was toast, it was burnt down to the metal,” said Aaron Ulrich, the General Manager, Caldwell Team Mazda.
When management at the Mazda dealership in Caldwell heard the news, they rallied to give the family a car.
“It’s someone in our community that needed help, we saw it, it was brought to our attention. I saw the pictures. How could you not want to help? I mean right after Christmas, and they lost everything, it looked like a bomb went off,” said Ulrich.
“It’s just emotional because we’re so blessed and being taken care of,” said Janiele.
Now, the family is in between Airbnbs and temporary housing, but their oldest son Jake says this hard time has brought them together.
“It’s made our family [get] closer. I don’t think we’ve ever had so many family meals together,” said Jake Hartsough.
“The support is amazing, and we’re definitely going to pay it forward, and give back to the community,” said Janiele Hartsough.
Meridian Fire Department responded to the January 6th fire. The cause is still under investigation.