PITTSFIELD — It was just after midnight when Michael Andrews’ world collapsed.

One moment, he was dozing off in his newly painted bedroom at his home in East Nassau, N.Y., on Jan. 7, his six-year-old daughter Willow asleep in the living room.

The next, he woke up to the sound of “popping and crackling,” the smell of smoke and the terrifying realization that his family home was engulfed in flames.

“I jumped up out of bed and when I opened my door, like the whole house was on fire,” Andrews said. “I never felt like that, and I just screamed Willow as loud as I could. I'm like, hopefully she's already outside, and I couldn't see because it's just all smoke, and I’m trying to hold my breath, and I hear her screaming for daddy.”

Michael Andrews, a single father and Army veteran is rebuilding his life after an overnight fire destroyed his home and custom furniture business in East Nassau on Jan. 7.

Without even stopping to put on shoes, Andrews grabbed his daughter and carried her outside to safety. Moments later, when he tried to go back for his phone to call the fire department, the flames had already overtaken the house.

By chance, Andrews’ 11-year-old son, Cameron, was not home that night. Because the fire started directly beneath Cameron’s bedroom, he said he knows how close the family came to tragedy.

“That's what keeps me going,” he said. “None of us are [in] a burn unit. None of us are in a casket.”

Surrounded by ashes, Cameron Andrews stand where his bedroom, playroom, and father’s workshop once stood. “That's what keeps me going,” Andrews said. “None of us are a burn unit. None of us are in a casket.”

Still, the losses were devastating.

The fire destroyed Andrews’ home — a place filled with hand-built furniture, family heirlooms and years of memories — along with his livelihood, Berkshire County Newtiques, a custom furniture business he operated out of the property.

Every table, shelf and bed had been made by Andrews himself. Many of the items were crafted from salvaged barns, reclaimed wood and antiques, reflecting the business’s motto: “making the old new again.”

“People are like, Oh, it's just stuff. But really, I built all that stuff. And a lot of that stuff was stuff I saved from memories of my mother or things we did over the years,” Andrews said. “So it's sad. I had a lot of love in there, and that's what I did all the time, is worked on that place.”

Lost in the fire were his late mother’s rings, the remaining pieces of her jewelry, along with a letter Andrews wrote to her while serving in the Army. His son’s six rabbits were also killed in the blaze.

The workshop, the heart of Berkshire County Newtiques and the result of years of hands-on, artful labor, was reduced to charred remains, leaving Andrews without a place to work.

“My whole house was everything I made. And then people would come to my house and see it, customers … and then I would make them stuff,” Andrews said. “That's the hard part too, is when someone has a fire, a week later [when] they recoup a little bit, they can go back to work whereas, I can't go back to work.”

Andrews, a single father and an Army veteran, said his military experience helped him react quickly the night of the fire and continues to help him move forward now.

“The military taught me that the first step is always the hardest, but you just keep going, and there's no choice but to march forward,” he said. “Especially with kids like I have to show them that dad's gonna make it a new house, and I'll make sure it's better.”

But it isn’t only what was lost that shocked Andrews. It’s also what was given in the days that followed.

Michael Andrews' home served as his business, workshop and creative outlet as an artist. Now, it's ash.

Andrews, who has been staying between his childhood home with his retired father and stepmother in Pittsfield and a hotel, said the community support has been overwhelming.

Neighbors, friends and strangers have donated clothing, food, shoes and money. More than 200 people have contributed to a GoFundMe campaign to help the family recover.

Country Squire Supply in New Lebanon, N.Y., organized an animal feed donation bin for the farm animals still on Andrews’ property, and the owners of The Venue at Skyline have donated space for a benefit event planned for April 12.

Neighbors have even searched the debris with metal detectors, hoping to recover his mother’s rings.

“I didn't realize how many people, actually cared before this. You know, I was a single dad with two kids, working my butt off and just keeping going forward, and didn't really notice the people that were around me that cared. And that's nice, that's soothing,” he said.

Willow, 6, and Cameron, 11, who live with Andrews most of the time, are his motivation as he begins the long process of rebuilding. He said both children have shown resilience in different ways since the fire.

Friends, family, and even his children’s school stepped in to make sure his family was supported emotionally. The principal reached out, shared his own story of a childhood house fire, and arranged for the school therapist to follow up with Andrews' kids.

Willow and Cameron, who live with Andrews most of the time, are his motivation as he begins the long process of rebuilding. He said both children have shown resilience in different ways since the fire.

“Willow is six, so she’s been surrounded by people bringing her princess dresses and stuffed animals,” Andrews said. “But when you really talk to her, she tells you she misses home and wants to go back.”

Andrews said Cameron surprised him most.

“I thought he’d be upset about his computer,” he said. “Instead, he hugged me and said, ‘I don’t care about that — it took you eight years to build all this, and now you have to start over.’ I was proud of him.”

In the coming months, the family will live in a travel trailer on their property, where Andrews will begin rebuilding from scratch, but not without help.

His sergeant while he was in the military, Scott Brockway, plans to help him rebuild a timber frame house on the same land, and his friend, Adam Wemple, who owns AHP Hardscaping, is going to help Andrews set up a new water line.

Donations to his GoFundMe remain critical as he faces steep rebuilding costs. Contributions of tools, building materials and skilled labor will help restore his home and business, he said.

“It's gonna be a long road. It's gonna be hard, but I'm gonna do it because I have to,” Andrews said. “I have a team of people who love me behind me, so I'll be able to do it. And I have to do it for my kids so they see it. You get the wind knocked out of you. You got to stand up, dust yourself off and carry on.”