Family Loses Everything In Morris Co. House Fire

ROXBURY, NJ — Just a month after moving in to their new Roxbury home, a local family has been left with nothing after a house fire ripped through their home.

Sheila and Phil Bandari moved into the Ridge Road home with their two young sons less than a month ago, a friend said on an online fundraiser. On Sunday night, it was totally destroyed in a fire.

"They only moved in a month ago and walked out without shoes, cell phones, coats or anything else. Even their car was lost," the friend wrote.

The fire started in the garage around 5 p.m. before spreading to the rest of the home, the Daily Record reported. The family made it out safely, and by 9:30 p.m., the fire was extinguished.

The home suffered smoke and fire damage, and part of the garage collapsed. It was deemed uninhabitable, the paper said.

"Let’s come together as a community and help them come back from this enormous loss. They are a gracious, kind family and deserve some support at this time!!" the GoFundMe set up in the family's benefit urged.

So far, the fundraiser has raised over ten times its original goal of $1,000. As of press time, over $10,600 has been donated to the Bandari family.

Image via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner