(mystatesman.com) –
Norma Guardado was at work Friday when she heard that the house in Southeast Austin she’d lived in for roughly 15 years was on fire.
She rushed over to her home in the 4900 block of Savorey Lane and found heavy smoke pouring from the single-story structure. The fire was already under control, but it had completely gutted the property, causing an estimated $150,000 in damage, according to the Austin Fire Department.
For Guardado and her four grandchildren, ranging from 7 months to 9 years old, it was a tragedy. She and the kids lost most of their possessions and their cat.
“We realized that the grandmother was raising four grandkids and had pretty much lost everything,” said Isaac Saldivar, one of the firefighters who helped tackle the blaze Friday. “Very little in their house was salvageable. It’s just a very bad situation to be in.”
Saldivar used Facebook to solicit donations for the family, the needs of which included a high chair, a playpen, diapers and clothes.
“What started as a small gesture on social media to get some help turned into many, many members of this community wanting to drop stuff off and donate in any way they can,” Saldivar said.
By Monday afternoon, Saldivar had amassed a heap of provisions for the family, including gift cards, toys and other necessities.
Guardado arrived at the fire station on Nuckols Crossing Road at 4 p.m. Monday, and when she saw all the donations, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
“There’s a lot of people out there who really care,” Guardado said. “I’m very grateful.”
As her grandchildren crawled over a fire engine parked outside of the station, Guardado said she replayed the day of the fire, trying to remember anything she’d done that might have sparked the blaze, but she couldn’t.
“Things happen,” she said.
The Fire Department said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Guardado spent the weekend out of town with her sister but now plans to move into another place in South Austin for the time being.
Saldivar said the mound of supplies she saw Monday was only a fraction of what the family would receive.
“We have many, many other people who have contacted me that are waiting to also come donate (more) clothing, books, food, toiletries and even furniture, which is awesome,” he said.
As a firefighter, Saldivar sees many families in similar situations. Some have just been severely injured in crashes; others, like Guardado and her grandchildren, lose their homes. He said there are many times where he can’t help everyone the way he’d like to, but in this case, something as simple as a post to Facebook, which took him all of 10 seconds, gave him the chance to make a difference.
Watch the report HERE››
