NORTHVILLE, NY — For one little boy, a beloved stuffed crocodile was the thing that he missed most after a devastating fire swept through their Northville home on New Year's Day.

But now, Matthew has a new "Croc," and his family is beginning to look to the future after the fire destroyed their home during the heart of the holiday season.

A GoFundMe page, "Help Kuzmans Rebuild Their Lives After House Fire," was created by the Peconic Community School Family Association on behalf of Christine Kuzman and has raised $3,370 of its $5,000 goal so far.

"They were simply cooking dinner on New Year’s Day, a time for family and for celebration," the page said. "A smoke detector went off, and Christine felt a pang of annoyance because she hadn’t burnt anything. A quick investigation led them to open the garage door — to find an inferno. Thank goodness Christine, Paul, little Matthew, and Christine’s dad all managed to get outside safely and to call 911."

Four fire departments raced to the scene, but "the fierce night wind plus all the cardboard in the garage for their upcoming move ensured the damage was swift: the garage and two bedrooms — Matthew’s and Christine’s dad’s— were completely destroyed, and the rest of the house suffered irreparable fire and smoke damage," the page said. "The cause remains undetermined, and the family is currently staying at Paul’s mom’s. Thus the Kuzman family has had to start the new year by rebuilding their lives."

Describing the fire, little Matthew said he'd lost a favorite bamboo stick, his beloved crocodile stuffed toy, and his Legos.

"All this, coming right on the heels of the death of Christine’s mother and aunt last September as well as her father moving in with them in November," the page said. "They are planning to close on a new home in Cutchogue on Jan. 24, but they don’t know when they’ll be able to move into it. This family has been through so, so much — and they are such kind, generous people."

Funds raised will be used to help purchase items for Matthew, who lost everything in his bedroom, including all his new Christmas toys. In addition, funds raised will be used to replace necessities for the family, including clothing, shoes, boots, and winter coats; replace basic necessities for a home, including furniture and essentials for the kitchen, bath, living room, bedrooms, laundry, garage; and ease the burden of having two mortgages and taxes until the Kuzmans are able to gut and renovate the burned home and sell it.

"Renovations carry a cost, too, of course, and the insurance money will only go so far," the page said.

Slowly, the family is gaining their footing — and Matthew has a new stuffed crocodile, an update to the page said.

"Look at how happy Matthew is in this photo!" the page said. "It may seem a small gesture, but these things matter so much to children. If you watched Matt's video, I'm sure you noticed that he specifically identified having lost his favorite stick and his stuffed croc in the fire. Well, the perfect new croc has been found, and Matthew just loves it. The Kuzmans have started using all of these generous donations for other necessities, too — things we take for granted, like mattresses. Thank you so much for giving. All this generosity warms our hearts. So grateful to see such good in the world."

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