MILLSTADT, Ill. — After losing everything in a house fire, strangers are now helping a Metro East family start over.
"It just kind of gives you a different perspective on life," said Todd Shylanski, the homeowner.
The fire broke out at this home in Millstadt on Tuesday night.
"We stopped the fire and we kind of dwindled it down and about 10 minutes later we just kind of heard a roar," Shylanski said. "And we came outside and there were flames shooting straight out of the chimney."
The Shylanski's lost everything.
"As you watch it happen, you kinda come to the conclusion that it's pretty bad," Shylanski said.
But they soon realized their family of four was not alone.
"There's a lot of things going on in the community to help them," said Justin Biggs, the co-founder of Millstadt Xplosion Baseball.
The organization was meeting for scheduled uniform fittings on Saturday, so it decided to also use the event as an opportunity to collect donations.
"We chose to see what we can do to help out," Biggs said, "so we offered our facility to anyone that wanted to bring donation items for that family."
By 2 p.m., they had received more than they were expecting.
"We have clothing, we put all the sizes the family needs, and we also have a box up here that's full of gift cards checks," Biggs said.
Sharon Madaus was one of the many people who stopped by to give back.
"I wanted to donate something. I wanted to help them out," said Madaus.
The outpouring of support giving Shylanski a different perspective.
"The worlds in a crazy state right now so you look at that and it changes you," Shylanski said. "It makes you feel and think people are good and people are here to help people in their dire need but now I've learned that you don't need to be in dire need to help people."
Loved ones have started a fundraiser to help the family rebuild.
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