TUNBRIDGE — Community members have rallied around two longtime residents who lost their home of nearly 30 years in an early-morning fire last week.

As of Monday afternoon, more than $56,000 had been raised to rebuild the Monarch Hill Road house of Lisa Kippen, 74, Dan “Rudi” Ruddell, 65, and their dog, Holly.

“What we in town want to do for them is build them a house this spring and summer that reflects the contribution they’ve given to our community,” said Eliza Minnucci, a fourth-grade teacher at Tunbridge Central School.

In the meantime, Ruddell, a watershed scientist at nonprofit White River Partnership, and Kippen, an artist, are staying in a house, which their children made arrangements for, across from the school.

Kippen’s three adult children from a previous marriage, Colin, Brian and Meredith Kippen, as well as Ruddell’s son, Rye Crofter, who died in 2023 at the age of 35, and the couple’s son, Andy Ruddell, now in his 20s, all attended Tunbridge Central School and spent large parts of their childhoods in the house that burned.

The response to the fire was prompt. Within five minutes of Ruddell calling the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department at around 2 a.m. on Friday, Capt. Matt Loftus, who lives down the road from Kippen and Ruddell, arrived at the scene.

Tunbridge firefighters along with members of the Chelsea, South Royalton, Sharon, Bethel and East Randolph departments fought the fire until about 8 a.m.

Still, in spite of firefighters’ efforts, the couple lost everything including their car keys, Kippen’s hearing aids, and Ruddell’s beloved guitar. Their home, built in the 1990s, was not insured.

“I’m pretty split right open right now,” Ruddell said in a phone interview Monday.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, Tunbridge Fire Chief Simon Bradford said in a phone interview Monday. But from talking with Ruddell, it’s believed the fire stemmed from a faulty “old refrigerator,” Bradford said.

Before the firefighters had even left the scene, community efforts to help Ruddell and Kippen were underway, Bradford said.

By Friday night, residents had left off  donations of clothing at the Tunbridge Church’s parish house. The couple had also been invited to stay in nine different homes in the Upper Valley, said Minnucci, who is managing the relief effort. A “meal train” launched on Sunday has filled with sign-ups through January.

“It boggles my mind not only the volume of support but level of communication and proficiency in navigating everything,” Ruddell said. “I can’t even begin to say how thankful I am to be in this community.”

For those who know the couple, the leap to action was a no-brainer.

“In responding to this crisis for Rudi and Lisa we are saying, ‘What would Rudi do?’ And Rudi would help and get things done,” Minnucci said.

For decades, Ruddell and Kippen have volunteered their time for children in the community’s library, school and environmental education projects. 

Ruddell also referees soccer and basketball games from the  elementary school to high school level. He has been known to donate his earnings back to the schools’ sports programs as a way to “pay forward” what sports meant for him growing up, Ruddell said.

“Sharing their talents and helping other folks out has always been a priority for them,” said Suzanne Long, who owns Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton.

Facing the destruction of their home, the couple recognized they had options moving forward. “We could go anywhere and start completely new,” Ruddell said, “but how things have unfolded the last couple days since, was more confirmation for me that there’s no place I’d rather be. This is where we belong.”

Ruddell is hopeful that the house’s foundation is still intact. The next steps are to clear debris and drain water from the foundation.

The goal of the GoFundMe campaign is to raise $300,000 to start rebuilding the home next spring.

“This is the example that we all are looking for of how communities and villages should work and we don’t always see that happening,” Minnucci said. “Rudi and the way he takes care of the Earth and the people around him has always been an example of that, and now that we get a chance to be a part of that and it feels really good.”

Donations for the rebuilding efforts are being accepted online at: gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-rudi-and-lisas-home or through the Tunbridge Church at: tunbridgechurch.org with the note “for Rudi and Lisa.” Donations are also being accepted at the Tunbridge Public Library on Route 110.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.