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Raising funds for a N.B. farm family

Raising funds for a N.B. farm family

The Verhoevens lost a machinery barn in a fire

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Community support is helping a Plumsweep, N.B. family rebuild after a devastating barn fire.

Tyrell Giffin, a friend of and spokesperson for the Verhoeven family, launched an online fundraising campaign to help the family replace some lost items.

Firefighters responded to the fire at the farm around 6:20 a.m. Saturday morning. The fire destroyed a barn and all the machinery stored inside. The contents of the barn included a tractor, a snowblower, three John Deere balers, a truck and a Porsche convertible.

The total damage from the fire is estimated at $150,000.

A family member “saw there was smoke coming out of the chimney head, which is on the other side of the road next to the house,” Giffin told Global News Monday.

The fundraising goal is $50,000. The money would be used towards purchasing a new hay baler.

Since the campaign began four days ago, contributions from 14 people have surpassed $1,500.

Even if the fundraising falls short of the desired amount, the support from the community will help the farmers move forward.

“Every bit helps,” Giffin told Global News. “Even if it’s not enough money raised to cover the equipment, it will be an encouragement for the family to be able to know that the community is willing to support them in their time of need.”

The family home sustained surface damage, and the cause of the fire remains unknown.

“We did put water on the owner’s home to cool it off because the siding was starting to melt,” Bill Wanamaker, chief of the Sussex Fire Department, told Global News. “There was nothing suspicious about (the fire) from our side.”

GoFundMe photo


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