'It was a tragic thing to go through': Community bands together after house fire in Genoa City

GENOA CITY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Days after a fire gutted neighboring Walworth County homes, a community is stepping up, doing what they can to help two families get back on their feet.

You could say the entire community has been saddened right along with the fire victims. People have been walking by, expressing pure sorrow. Others are taking action with donations. I'm told one guy even showed up, donating a car.

The loving on one another in Genoa City started right with these flames Friday on Meadow Drive.

"And when I see my neighbor, she says, 'Oh, you have to get out of your house because my house is on fire,'" said Jazmin Hernandez, whose house is one of three homes damaged by the fire.

Jazmin Hernandez and her daughter live next door to the house where the fire began. The flames reached Hernandez's garage and fence before firefighters were able to put it out.

"I was very scared, and I didn't know how to react, like all the neighbors came and helped us. They helped me with my daughter because she was crying," said Hernandez.

It started Friday afternoon and firefighters say it went to a two-alarm fire. A mother and her two children, ages 11 and 19, got out okay. One person was also in the house on the other side. No one was injured. The smoke could be seen for miles.

"And I went to get something to drink, and turned around and just saw this humongous plume of smoke and when you saw it you knew immediately that it was a house," said Peggy Quake, of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Genoa City.

Peggy Quake's great-great-grandfather helped build this church that put out word that these families needed help. The response? An entire room now filled with help, and they're now asking for gift cards to pass along.

"So, when I drove up, I'm like, 'What kind of donations?' She goes, 'Anything and everything. It's the beauty of a small-town mentality because people are hurting, and you know your neighbors. So, you're gonna get out there and help,'" said Pastor Cheri Tuccy of Calvary United Church of Christ in Twin Lakes.

"Just keep them in your prayers because they really need our help and support. It was a tragic thing to go through," said Quake.

Church members say the family told them there was one small blessing in this. The delivery of a new computer for the son who lives here got delayed by a day. Otherwise, it would've been lost with the rest.