HALIFAX -- A Cape Breton senior is thankful for all the support he is getting after he lost his home in a fire.

On the morning of Halloween, Harold Delaney says he put a fire on in the wood stove inside his shed before heading inside his home for breakfast. Not long after, he noticed smoke.

“So I ran outside, opened the door to go in and the flames met me,” said Harold.

The fire that began in the shed quickly spread to Delaney’s mobile home that he has lived in since 1973, and shared with his late wife who passed away in August 2019.

Once fire crews arrived, the 79-year-old realized there was something inside his home he needed to get. It was a picture of his wife.

“They tried to stop me but I wanted that picture. I wanted it of my wife. So I went in to get that,” explained Harold.

Harold says him and his wife had been together for more than 50 years. He says having her picture means the world to him.

“She was always there for anybody,” said Harold.

Harold’s home insurance expired while his wife was sick, leaving him overwhelmed with the thought of starting over in the middle of a pandemic.

“I’m all alone now. Just the kids. They’re all married,” said Harold.

A family friend of Harold’s heard the news and started a GoFundMe page for his friend hoping to raise some money to help him out.

“He was always willing to help people around the track. If your car broke down, he was a good mechanic. He would help people out with that,” said Ardon Mofford, who started the GoFundMe page.

The online fundraiser quickly blew past its initial goal of $5,000. On Saturday, the total raised was sitting at almost $19,000.

“I can’t believe how people are coming around, rallying around. People I don’t even know,” said Harold.

Harold says he is still a little uncomfortable accepting people’s money, being a man who has never asked for sympathy or any handouts. However, during a time that is tough for everyone, he says the simple knowledge that others care really does lift his spirit.

“I don’t know what to say, or how to explain how I’m feeling,” said Harold. “It’s just, I’m finding it hard to imagine.”