HEBRON — Lt. Kailie Balcom of the Paris Fire Department wasn’t among the responders at the Nov. 6 fire that destroyed the Basso family’s West Paris home. But after the fire, she realized her son and the Bassos’ youngest son were in the same child-care facility.

“It was actually a couple days later that I made the connection,” she said.

Josh and Kristy Basso and their four sons escaped the fire but lost everything in their McKeen Road house.

“They were staying in a one-room motel, and I knew that’s no way for a family to spend the holidays,” Balcom said.

She knew Deputy Chief Jon Longley had a house in Hebron he was slowly fixing up and asked if the Bassos could use it while they got back on their feet. Longley lost a home in a fire 20 years ago and knew what they were going through.

The Bassos went to see it and agreed the three-story house next to the Hebron Town Office would fit their needs and provide a winter home for their sons, who range in age from 18 months to 15 years. “The family came out and looked at the place and fell in love with it,” Longley said.

The house was in need of repairs. The wood floors were in bad condition and most of the interior walls needed replacing. The house needed new insulation.

“We just started making calls,” Balcom said. “What do we need? How can we get it? From there, the plan just unfolded so fast.”

A week later, she estimated about 100 people had contributed time or materials to the effort. Balcom has worked to gather materials, calling local hardware stores and retailers looking for Sheetrock, joint compound, paint, insulation and other materials. She said The Home Depot in Auburn had donated three truckloads of materials. The home improvement store plans to send employees over this weekend to help, she said.

She said specialists have been volunteering their time, including Basso’s half-brother, an electrician in Massachusetts who is bringing a crew up to wire the house. Balcom said they were still looking for someone skilled in weatherization.

Other firefighters and their friends and families have volunteered time to help with the repairs. One room has two air mattresses for volunteers who worked late and got up early to keep the work moving.

“People are just coming out of the woodwork to help on this project,” Longley said. Crews are working 24 hours a day to get the job done.

Longley said the goal is to get the Bassos moved in by Thanksgiving. “Our mission statement is reuniting the family for the holidays.”

Longley is organizing the volunteers. He said more than half of the fire department’s roster has been out helping in some way. He said phone calls are constantly streaming in as people offer time or materials.

Longley’s wife, Janet, has been delivering food and supplies to the crew.

She said the work will eventually help her and her husband, too. She said she and Jon had bought the house as their retirement home and were slowly fixing it over the past two years. They had installed a furnace, replaced windows and added new plumbing, but the work was going slow.

The Longleys will let the Bassos live there until they can rebuild their house in West Paris, which was insured.

Firefighter Darryl Rugg said the community has been supportive. When Rugg was buying several cups of coffee for volunteers Tuesday morning, he explained to the cashier why he was buying so many cups of coffee. The customer in line behind him insisted on paying for the coffee.

“It’s truly a community effort,” Rugg said.

Longley said the Fire Department usually has a project for the holidays, but this is by far the largest.

“We’re not looking to be looked at as heroes,” Longley said. He said he’s hoping people will pitch in or help somebody else who needs a hand.

Funds have been set up to help the Basso family at TD Bank and Androscoggin Bank.

The Bassos were not available for comment Wednesday.

treaves@sunjournal.com

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