Many have asked, “If my house was burning, what would I take?” On February 10, that hypothetical question became a reality for the Mooney family of Mattapoisett.

“My son noticed smoke coming out of a cabinet next to the fireplace,” said Judy Mooney.

The family had been in the dark for a few days following the blizzard, but had recently gotten their power back, which Judy attributes to them noticing the smoke.

“God was watching out for us,” she said.

Judy’s kids ran outside, while she rushed to get her mother out of the house. Her husband Mark grabbed a hard drive with their family photos.

“By the time we got to the van, the smoke had pretty much taken over,” said Judy.

The Mattapoisett Fire Department spent nine hours battling the fire that ultimately consumed most of the house, except for a few framed family photos that the firefighters left in the family’s car.

“They were all in my van in a box. [The firemen] must have been doing that as they worked,” said Judy.

The family got more difficult news when Judy’s ailing father passed away less than a week ago.

Since then, the family has been blanketed by the support of their neighbors, from a clothing drive to living at a friend’s home.

“We’ve been so blessed by the community. It really is just overwhelming for us. 'Thank you' doesn’t feel like enough,” said Judy.

On Friday night, the community came out again to help the Mooney family with the Blizzard Relief Open Mic Night at Old Hammondtown School.

Organized by Music director Paul Halpainy, Old Hammondtown’s cafetorium was transformed into a coffeehouse with the help of local businesses, school staff, and members of the community.

Halpainy, who taught the Mooney kids, wanted to do something a soon as he heard about the fire.

“What am I going to do, put 10 bucks in a jar? I wanted to help more than that,” he said.

Halpainy rallied the faculty and staff at Old Hammondtown, and began asking people in the community to perform and bring baked goods.

“I wanted it to be a family thing, not just a kid thing,” he said.

With support from Principal Matt D’Andrea and the Mattapoisett School Committee, the event came together with a full schedule of performers on Friday night. Former music teacher Stan Ellis brought his jazz band, the sixth grade class brought their poetry, and teacher Mike Bowman brought a guitar and a Taylor Swift song.

“It’s not a sad night,” said Halpainy, who hoped to raise at least $1,000 from the evening. “I want this to be a positive rebuilding. I think that bringing the community together like this is a great way to say, when something like this happens, we’ve got your back.”