Former East End Artist & Family Lose Everything in Devastating House Fire
Beloved Springs native and Dan’s Papers cover artist Grant Haffner and his family, who had moved to Buckland, Massachusetts, lost everything during a catastrophic house fire caused by a wood-burning stove on Sunday, December 16. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help them get through this trying time.
Thankfully, Haffner, his wife and professional chef Cassandra and their two children, Griffin (11) and Phoenix (9), and two family pets, escaped the blaze uninjured, but their home, all of their possessions, and even the family car, were destroyed.
Among the devastating losses were Grant’s precious artworks, all of Cassandra’s kitchen tools and the children’s Christmas gifts.
The GoFundMe campaign, which seeks $50,000 to help the Haffners get back on their feet, points out that the family escaped without shoes or essential paperwork and devices. All of their family photos and videos burned.
Specifically, the GoFundMe organizers note that donations will contribute to “immediate needs such as temporary housing, clothing, food, and the daunting task of rebuilding their family home.” As both Cassandra and Grant are independent artists and creators, the funds will also help rebuild their kitchen and art studios, which are essential for their livelihoods.
For those who don’t know, Grant Haffner built quite a following for his colorful paintings of East End roads and utility poles and lines, as well as landmarks such as the Montauk Lighthouse, Long Wharf in Sag Harbor and Ashawagh Hall in Springs where he held many art exhibitions, including group shows under the “Bonac Tonic” umbrella.
After a lifetime of living in the Hamptons, Grant and his family moved from North Haven to New England about 8 years ago when he decided to pursue art full time in a more financially manageable area.
Cassandra recently wrote to the community, “It would be impossible to keep up with the amount of love, compassion and generosity you’ve shown my family during this crisis. Grant and I look at each other every so often and wide-eyed say to each other, oh my God, this doesn’t feel like a crisis except when we think about what has happened. That is how fully you all have been holding our family with every kind of support.”
The kindness of locals in their new hometown has already given the Haffners a temporary place to live, at the Trinity Church parsonage in nearby Shelburne Falls, for the next six months. “The home is warm, clean, spacious and walking distance to the kids’ school. I could (and have) cried with relief,” Cassandra shared.
Thanks to an immense outpouring of love from people in Massachusetts and the East End, the Haffners reached more than 50% of their funding within 24 hours, and by Thursday, December 21, the campaign hit $40,020 of the $50,000 goal.
To help the Haffner family, visit the campaign at gofundme.com.
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