The Vineyard community is rallying around a Vineyard Haven family after a weekend house fire left the family uninjured but destroyed all their belongings.

Tisbury Fire Chief John Schilling said the fire department was summoned to 11 Martha’s Vineyard Avenue just after noon on Dec. 27 for a report of a fire at a small single story home. Chief Schilling said flames were coming out of the casement windows in the basement.

The tenants, the DeSouza family, were at home at the time of the fire, Chief Schilling said, and they all evacuated safely.

Chief Schilling said the fire started in the basement and extended up the stairs to the first floor kitchen. The fire department was on the scene for about three hours.

“There were no injuries to either the occupants or the first responders,” Chief Schilling said. “We consider that a mark of success, that everyone can walk away free and clear, without any injuries.”

While the structure of the house was saved, Chief Schilling said, “the interior damage was extensive.”

Chief Schilling said the DeSouzas, who rented the home, “lost all their personal property.”

“It was a total loss for them,” he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Chief Schilling said, with the fire department working alongside the insurance company.

There was a full department response, Chief Schilling said, and Tisbury EMS and the Tisbury Police Department also responded. Oak Bluffs provided mutual aid on the scene and provided back-up at the fire station and responded to a second call while the Tisbury department was fighting the house fire. “That’s how the mutual aid system works,” Chief Schilling said.

He added that the Red Cross has been contacted to help the family, who were left “with only the clothing on their backs.”

“That’s a terrible thing to have happen right after Christmas,” Chief Schilling said. “At any time of the year, but especially in the Christmas season.”

On the Facebook group Islanders Talk, Islanders offered donations of everything from clothing to a three-story doll house. Juliana Ribeiro is coordinating donations for Nivaldo and Giane DeSouza and their two children, a 14-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.

“They pretty much need everything,” Ms. Ribeiro told the Gazette. She said the family has found temporary housing at a place that is furnished, but once they find a more permanent place, they will need furniture. She said for now, their most urgent needs are clothing, bedding and towels.

Those who want to donate can drop off items at 2 Windfarm Circle in Oak Bluffs, across from the NStar building. An account for donations has also been created at Santander bank under Nivaldo DeSouza’s name.