Brendon Carter and his three daughters were left homeless after a fire, believed to have been caused by a faulty washing machine, tore through their Concord home last Friday.
Three days on, Mr Carter said he was trying not to think about what could have happened if the fire had occurred at night.
"It’s kind of depressing thinking about what could have happened.‘‘If something had happened, how would I have coped?"
The house did not have contents insurance. However, a flood of donations, including beds and clothing, had made life a little less stressful.
"It’s not the big things you miss, it’s the little things. We now have shoes for the girls because they only had their school shoes on when it happened."
The family had already received three carloads of goods and a local business had offered to provide them with fruit and vegetables for a month.
A post about the fire on the Otago Daily Times’ Facebook page gained more than 100 comments, offering everything from whiteware to horse riding lessons for his daughters, Mr Carter said.
"It has just been awesome.
"I have heard from people I have not heard from in years ...
"People have just been so generous to us."
The family was staying at Mr Carter’s parents’ house and would move into another Housing New Zealand property next Monday.
"Housing New Zealand have been really good but after 10 years in that house it will feel strange."
But having to move was a small price to pay, he said.
"I’m just happy that we all got out and people have been so awesome."
