HILLSBORO, Ohio — The Hillsboro community is coming together Saturday to raise money for the families of three people killed in an explosion Tuesday.
Paint Creek Joint EMS & Fire said crews responded to Jimbo's Auto Repair on U.S. 62 Tuesday for a reported explosion. Investigators haven't released a cause of the fire and explosion yet.
“I mean there’s no words, really when you lose somebody that unexpectedly," said James Hillis, the owner of The Grub 'n Monkey. “You have our condolences.”
Their families identified the victims as Tim Furbee, David Beaver and Cameron Boatman.
The identifications came before investigators officially released the names, though many in the small community knew through word of mouth who was inside Jimbo's Auto when an explosion rocked the neighborhood, fire consumed the building and a large column of smoke rose into the sky.
Hillis wanted to do more for the victims' families than offer condolences, so he organized a fundraiser dinner.
“The community sticks together and like I said, we all know each other so if somebody’s in trouble, we pull together and help each other. That’s just, that's what you do," he said.
For $20, Hillis said customers can get a pork chop or chicken dinner, plus the opportunity to buy raffle tickets for items donated by other Hillsboro businesses.
“We have something from almost every store," he said. “We have several gift cards. There’s several hair cuts, oil changes, there’s everything.”
Hillis said he's expecting more than a hundred people Saturday and there's still room for more. You don't have to register, you can simply just show up and Hillis said if you can't make it there's still a way to help.
A GoFundMewas set up to raised money that will be distributed to all three families.
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