Fire ravaged a nearly 120-year-old Riverdale Road home in the Wellesley Farms area of town after midnight on Saturday, though fortunately both parents and their two children got out safely. Firefighters were not able to find the family’s new puppy.

A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to support the family, and more than $82K had been raised by 12/21/20.

Deputy Chief Donahue was in command and all crews worked exceptionally hard from about midnight to 5:30am on Sunday, according to Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie, who thanked Natick, Needham, Newton, and Weston crews for mutual aid at the fire scene as well as for providing station coverage. He added thanks to Cataldo Ambulance for its support.

“We recovered a few personal and sentimental items at the owners’ request,” he said. “The house was old construction and was completely damaged.”

State Fire Marshal investigators were called to help the Wellesley Fire Department and Wellesley Police Department to determine the fire’s cause, which is unknown at this time.

While the damage from this holiday season fire for this family is impossible to tally, DeLorie said he has invited the family to visit the fire station to take any toys left there that might be age appropriate. “I will reach out if other services are needed and make sure their holidays are as good as possible under the circumstances,” DeLorie said.