ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — Following a fire in the supply trailer being towed by Pat King, owner of First Class Towing, to Asheville, North Carolina, for hurricane relief efforts, community members in Guersney County joined forces with communities in Columbiana County to get the much-needed supplies to victims in a town nearly destroyed by Hurricane Helene.

The trailer left Monday from the Calcutta Volunteer Fire Department and later caught fire on Interstate 70 in Guernsey County between Old Washington and Cambridge.

Antrim Community Volunteer Fire Chief Don Warnock said he believes the fire was accidental and caused by a possible equipment malfunction.

Calcutta Volunteer Fire Department member Scott Smith said Antrim firefighters want to help as much as they can, adding Antrim firefighters talked about trying to collect items to add to what Calcutta firefighters had collected.

Warnock said residents in his community want to do something to help with the Calcutta Fire Department’s efforts.

Warnock said he has a resident looking into using a facility for a donation drive, willing to use his trailer to haul the donated items to Asheville, Warnock said, adding he hoped to connect them with the Calcutta team when they go through his area Sunday.

Warnock shared a post on his Facebook page to let Guernsey County residents know he had been in touch with Calcutta VFD and found out they have a truck ready to be loaded and would be holding donation collection days.

He said if there is room on the semi-trailer, the Antrim fire department would put out the call to help fill it up when it comes through Guernsey County. Warnock is concerned about collecting a lot of donated items and not having a way to get them delivered.

Smith said Murray Trucking has donated a truck with a 53-foot trailer that was parked at the fire station Tuesday to transport the donations to Asheville. The trucking outfit has also provided a driver who will leave with the truck Sunday.

Smith said that only a small portion of the supplies collected Monday were lost in the fire. Most of the donations were still at the station waiting for a second load to go.