By KATE DANIEL

Staff reporter

From watching all of his possessions incinerate in a house fire to getting married, Paul Burt’s life has been nothing if not eventful in the past several weeks.

Just two weeks before their wedding day, Paul and Sally Burt escaped what could have been a tragic demise. At 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday approximately one month ago, the Burts’ recently purchased mobile home at 1320 N. Oak Harbor Street burned to the ground along with all of their possessions.

“I heard a crash and a boom and a whoosh, and woke up to an orange glow,” said Paul Burt.

He and Sally Burt rushed outside and, within a few minutes, the home exploded.

Burt described the experience as “devastating.”

The fire was caused by an electrical extension cord, Paul Burt said.

In addition to losing all of their belongings and home, Paul Burt, owner of Burt’s Saw and Mower on Goldie Road, said business has been slow of late, making the financial burden even more difficult. He estimates the couple’s total financial losses from the fire at about $20,000.

To help the Burts, a band of friends, neighbors and community members established fundraisers: a yard sale and concert by Monkey Hill held Saturday, and a spaghetti dinner to take place Thursday evening from 5-9 p.m., at Oak Harbor Tavern.

During Saturday evening’s concert, Monkey Hill drummer Big Steve expressed his condolences to the Burts and encouraged audience members to fill the donation buckets, which were placed at the bar.

“We’re doing this for him,” he said. “He lost everything in that horrible fire.”

Steve Despopoulos, a manager at the tavern, said he’s known Paul Burt as a friend and customer for years.

“He’s just a real gentle, kind person, just a real good guy to know,” Despopoulos said. “I hate to see anything like this happen to anyone. I just thought he deserved a little help and we had the opportunity to try and provide him a little.”

Burt has lived and worked on the island for more than 30 years, and said he’s made plenty of friends through the decades.

He said he was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support.

Despopoulos said he’d prefers not to discuss the amount raised from the concert and yard sale until after the spaghetti dinner. He noted, however, that they had raised a “pretty generous amount of money” thus far.

“In this kind of situation any little bit helps,” he said.

“I don’t know how to put it in words,” Paul Burt said. “I appreciate everything that everybody has done, friends and neighbors that have jumped up trying to help us out.”

Aside from the fundraisers, several people have donated household goods and clothing, for which Paul Burt expressed his gratitude.

For the moment, the couple is living in Mount Vernon, where Sally Burt works as a custodian.

“She’s doing pretty good. She’s been a real trooper through the whole thing,” said Paul Burt. “She was devastated by the fire … but she was more concerned about the neighbors than anything else.”

Thursday’s spaghetti dinner costs a $7 donation for admittance.

All are welcome.