From the time their home caught fire several weeks ago, it’s been a real whirlwind for the families who were affected by the ordeal.

In such life-changing moments and such a time of duress, a good deed can go a long way in making things a little easier to cope with.

Such was the case after the George household at 330 North First St. suffered damage from the fire that broke out at a nearby home.

Not long after, Troy George, who has lived at the property for 20 years, said he received a call from officer Jason Pryce who said he wanted to meet with him.

“I thought he wanted to talk about the fire, what I saw, what I might’ve caught on surveillance video,” George posted on his Facebook page. “What I didn’t know was he was bringing (Lehighton) UVO Commander (Kevin) Long from United Veterans VFW to present me with a new flag.”

George said he and his family were truly grateful for the act of good will.

“It was just an act of kindness that really touched me,” said George, who added it was less than a week after the fire.

George said his family was home when they were alerted to the fire.

“It was a moment of ‘wow, what is going to happen, that is scary, very hot’,” he said. “We had moved to our backyard all the way out into the alley, and one of the officers asked is there anything we need from the house; really everything we needed was already outside.

“Our family was the most important thing, and material possessions were not our immediate concern. We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe.”

George said he, along with his wife, son, and 95-year-old mother-in-law lived at the home.

“The Red Cross was fantastic; everybody’s been real kind to us,” he said. “Our house compared to the other two houses, we have not nearly as much damage; however, it is still a lot to struggle through with things that need to be replaced, need to be fixed.

“We were told we could be out of our house potentially for a year. That is our biggest issue right now having to deal with housing where we’re going to stay.”

George said despite it all, he’s certain his family will ultimately come out on the other side of things.

“We are quite a bit on the stressed out side, anxiety,” he said. “But this is only temporary, and we will get through it.”

The fire began around 7 p.m. June 20 at 324 N. First St. The properties at 322-324 N. First St. were destroyed. The two houses were demolished.

Lehighton Fire Chief Patrick Mriss said the investigation is in the hands of the Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal, who was on the scene the night of the fire. State police have not released information on the investigation.

Mriss said there were no injuries, as fire crews battled the blaze in 90-plus degree temperatures.

Christine Ferguson and her three sons lost everything in the fire. Jessi Ferrey and her family which includes 4-year-old daughter Cora also lost everything. GoFundMe accounts have been set up and the community is hosting fundraisers.