Community Corner

Southington Fire: State-wide Support Helps Kastner Family Move Forward

After losing everything is a raging fire Tuesday night, the Kastner family is finding hope in an outpouring of support from across the state.

The Kastner family felt as if they lost everything when their house at 59 Lombardo Court burned to the ground Tuesday night in a raging fire, leaving homeowner Erik Kastner in serious condition at Bridgeport Hospital.

The Kastners are recovering, however, and are in high spirits thanks largely to an outpouring of support from people throughout the state.

“I am so overwhelmed by the support and generosity we’ve received from friends and even from people we don’t even know,” said Lucy Kastner, Erik’s wife. “People have given us enough clothes for the kids to last a year. We have an entire room full of clothes, toys, movies and even bikes.”

Erik Kastner, 31, remains at Bridgeport Hospital, where he is being treated for burns on his arm and smoke inhalation suffered when the fire ripped through the family’s two-story home just before 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire burned so brightly it could be seen from both Interstate 84 and Interstate 691, fire officials said. In the end, nothing was left but a charred section of the first-floor frame. 

Erik Kastner discovered the fire and alerted his family but was soon separated from them and ran back into the building, believing his wife and the couple’s two children, 5-year-old Sophie and 2-year-old Chase, were still inside. The three had escaped to a neighbor's house and he was injured before he found out, officials confirmed.

The family’s two dogs were killed.

An investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause of the blaze, Southington fire officials said Thursday. A source with the Southington Fire Department said it “likely started in the garage.” 

For the family, things didn’t seem like they could have been any worse, but that’s when an outpouring of support rolled in.

Christian Central Academy on West Street, where Sophie attends kindergarten, immediately organized a food and donation drive. The Pumpkin Patch day care took collections and parents are organizing a pasta dinner to help the family.

By Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the fire, an account had been set up in their name at Wells Fargo Bank in Plantsville with a balance of $2,000 to help them begin rebuilding their lives, Lucy Kastner said.

Donations are still being accepted and can be made out to the Kastner Family Fund and dropped off at Wells Fargo Bank, 781 Main St.

But the help hasn’t stopped there.

The students at Mitchell and Bethlehem elementary schools in Regional School District 14, where Erik Kastner works as a physical education teacher, will each host a “wear your favorite jersey day” Friday in an effort to help Kastner.

Kastner had also worked part-time as a plow driver and landscaper and with the latest snow friends have offered to take over his accounts free of charge.

“I can’t even express how grateful I am,” Lucy Kastner said. "I am so thankful to God for keeping our family safe."


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