A Bay area toymaker who has spent his life making a difference in the lives of sick children now needs some help of his own.

Tom Loughlin's New Port Richey shop burned to the ground today.

Since 1982, The Toy Makers organization has been creating and delivering handmade wooden toys. They each take at least an hour to make. Volunteers with The Toy Makers organization craft and deliver them to sick and needy children across the Bay area.

"Well, it's a loss, I don't know what else to say,” said Laughlin.



Laughlin said his organization counted on the workshop in his backyard.



"We lost a lot of big equipment that we need to get the wood reduced to size, cut it to proper shapes all kinds of hand tools that we need in construction,” he said. "I had almost 3,000 toy wheels that were ready to be painted, gone."



The Toy Makers Organization wonders, what's next?



"What this fire means to us is we're out of business, basically,” said Carl Hansen, The Toy Makers.

They deliver 5,000 toys every three months. They're not sure how far the fire will set them back.

The Pasco County Fire Department says an electrical issue likely caused the fire. Damage is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000.