LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The 570 Redline Outlaws Car Club hosts car shows, but this one at Best Cigar Pub in Drums is to help some of its own.
Christine Gallagher and her family lost their home on Grouse Ridge Lane in the Beech Mountain Lakes development to a fire on March 2.
"It started about five inches away from my daughter's elbow. It went up pretty quick, about four minutes," said Christine Gallagher, fire victim.
"At first, we did not know, but once our president posted online that he had lost everything, we learned it was them who had lost their home, and the children lost all of their belongings as well," said Monica Morrison, 570 Redline Outlaws Car Club member.
As fire crews made their way to the scene that day, two firetrucks collided at an intersection on Route 309 in Butler Township, and six firemen were injured. Gallagher tells Newswatch 16 she remembers the moment they heard about the crash from state police.
"They were asking if anyone was in the house, then they got a call on the radio that they collided, and he took off, and I remember looking at the house as if it was in an inferno," explained Gallagher.
"We could not believe it. It's unfortunate because they are such nice people, and they are willing to help everybody," said Morrison.
Gallagher says the support from the community has been overwhelming. The car show also included a basket raffle of donated items. She says her family is grateful that everyone, including the pets, made it out safely.
"Everything was pretty okay getting out safely, but the house is gone, the car is gone, but that can all be replaced, so that is nothing to worry about," said Gallagher.
A battery was determined as the cause of the fire in Luzerne County.