Volunteer firefighters dug into their pockets to help a man who lost everything in a blaze.

Dave Allegro, Taylor Township Volunteer Fire Department chief, said David Lloyd White, 49, of 709 River Road, lived alone in a mobile home behind the family home where White had grown up. That house is now vacant, Allegro said.

“He didn’t have insurance and the trailer was a total loss,” Allegro said. “He lost everything.”

The firemen, called out at 9:44 a.m. Monday, were assisted by South New Castle Borough and Shenango volunteer companies with Chewton and New Beaver volunteers supplying tankers, according to Allegro.

About 30 firefighters participated, spending two and a half to three hours at the scene.

“When we returned to the station, we took up a collection so (White) would have money to buy himself some clothes,” Allegro said. The firefighters collected about $200.

Allegro said he believes White is living with relatives now.

White told firefighters he had been cooking when the skillet caught on fire.

”He tried to pick it up to toss it out but dropped the pan onto the floor,” Allegro said.

The firefighters were able to save the garage on the property, located between the vacant house and the mobile home, Allegro said. He added he does not know what was in the building.