AMHERST — In the week since a fire destroyed their home, the Bond family has leaned on the help of family, friends and neighbors as they adjust to losing many of their belongings and two dogs.
“So many people have poured out love and kindness and empathized with our situation,” Anthony Bond said in a phone interview Thursday. “That’s allowed us to keep our heads up and keep going.”
The Nov. 2 fire gutted the 29 Tamarack Drive home where Bond and his wife, Anna Brightman-Bond, have lived since 2004. Two small dogs, Chase and Abu, were in a cage inside the home at the time of the fire, and perished.
The couple has been staying with friends in Amherst, Ludlow, Holyoke and Springfield and gotten assistance from friends and family members. The couple’s three grown daughters have also visited to help them say goodbye to the dogs.
Anthony Bond said the past week has been an emotional whirlwind.
The day of the fire was overwhelming, noting that when he saw his home he got weak knowing that the pets were unlikely to have survived.
“As the week progressed, I found not being able to take for granted things I usually take for granted,” Bond said.
This includes access to internet and Wi-Fi, having essentials such as a toothbrush, soap and mouthwash, and clothes, such as the warm clothing he will need as winter approaches.
Bond said he is working with a restoration crew from Complete Restoration Solutions in Chicopee to salvage what remains on the lower level of the home, including water logged albums of photographs.
“They will try to restore some of the photos, which will be a blessing for us so those memories are not completely lost,” Bond said.
The irony is that as an information technology teacher for the Springfield schools, he could have stored many of these pictures in the cloud.
The home will have to be rebuilt, posing another challenge, as he looks forward to staying in the neighborhood. But the couple needs help in identifying a contractor who can build a new home.
Until that happens, he is having conversations with a local couple heading on sabbatical, and hopes that this can be a temporary home until late next summer.
All the accommodations are appreciated.
“Friends have told us as long as you need to, don’t worry about a thing,” Bond said. “But no one wants to be an imposition on others.”
The best way for the community to help is through a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/bond-family-fire-fund), which already has raised more than $17,000 toward a $25,000 goal. “Thank you to the community for its outpouring of support,” Bond said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com
