NORTH REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) – In a matter of seconds, a young Pinellas County man thought his lawn care company had gone up in smoke, but the community rallied to make sure he doesn’t go out of business.

“My goal was always to have them be as happy as they can be and now they returned the favor to me,” Diego Wallace, 22, said of his clients.

With the money he saved up working for a friend, Wallace started his own lawn care business a year ago in Pinellas County.

“We’re always one small moment away from losing everything,” Wallace said.

While cutting the grass Saturday morning in North Redington Beach, Wallace said he looked up and saw smoke coming from his trailer.

Wallace said he feared the worst for his business Wallace Property Services when he realized the lawnmower he purchased for more than $5,000 had caught on fire.

“I never try to miss a day of work and I’ve always tried to give my best,” he said, “and to see that the main piece of equipment was pretty much on fire, I didn’t really know how to feel. It was just a very scary situation because I felt like I was gonna let all my customers down.”

But after extinguishing the fire, Wallace finished trimming the grass around Anny Mendez’s home.

“I told my neighbor like I feel so bad for this kid,” Mendez said. “I really want to help him.”

Mendez started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help Wallace repair his equipment.

The response from the community, she said, was overwhelming. Many of his clients chipped in to raise more than $6,000.

“I didn’t do anything for you, just know that because you worked so hard,” Mendez said she told Wallace when she gave him the first portion of the money. “And you’re such a good person, everybody wants to help you. It’s you, like, you did this with your work, your personality, your kindness.”

Wallace said he is humbled by the kindness of everyone helping him overcome this setback for his business.

“I am so thankful for everyone who sent that because I always gave my best for them and for them to do something for me it means truly the world because I’m able to keep going and become stronger through it,” Wallace said.

Wallace has already brought his damaged lawnmower into the shop for repairs.