It’s not hard to imagine what could’ve been.

Tuesday’s fire at the Tri-Lakes Humane Society was scary, but thanks to the humane society’s staff and the quick response of our local fire departments, what could’ve been a much bigger tragedy was tackled fast.

Time and again, this community shows up for each other. This was no exception.

Brooke Gallo, a humane society employee, bravely started fighting the fire before firefighters arrived, no doubt giving others more time to get animals out of the building.

As staff rushed to get animals to safety, volunteers came out of the woodworks to lend a hand.

Volunteer firefighters worked quicky to knock down the blaze.

And before the fire departments had even left the scene, when news spread of the fire, residents of this community were already shoring up support to get the humane society whatever it would need to reopen again. Within hours of the fire, a fundraiser was set up at the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery to benefit the humane society.

Repairing the damage will likely take time, and the humane society is asking for donations. (Anyone interested can make a donation at www.trilakeshumanesociety.org/donate.) Seeing the community response to this fire has been heartening. We’re grateful that everyone is safe, no animals were harmed and that, with any luck, the humane society is on track to get back up and running soon.