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When Victory Outreach Church in Pomona went up in flames early Sunday morning, incinerating the church constructing together with greater than 500 toys set to be given away later within the day , it didn’t take lengthy for the spirit of Christmas to comb by means of the group.
The Los Angeles County Fireplace Division despatched 100 firefighters to combat the blaze after which to knock down partitions, stamping out scorching spots. However earlier than the smoke had even cleared, hearth officers hatched a plan to ship two Search and Rescue vans loaded with toys to the catastrophe web site later within the day.
And after information of the catastrophe unfold, all morning lengthy, members of the group converged on the location with donated toys.
“Now we have to assist save Christmas for this congregation,” mentioned L.A. County Fireplace Captain Sheila Kelliher-Burkoh. “We all know the constructing isn’t the church. The church is within the hearts of those folks and we’re right here to assist.”
The blaze ignited a bit after 2 a.m., burning so fiercely within the constructing’s attic that firefighters needed to retreat. Nobody was injured, however when the flames had been lastly out, the constructing was gone, together with 500 toys the congregation had painstakingly collected for kids in want. “That’s the horrible timing of this one,” Kelliher-Burkoh mentioned.
Officers on the L.A. County Fireplace division rapidly determined they may assist. The division, at the side of ABC7-TV, collects toys all season for the needy, storing them in a large warehouse in Vernon earlier than distributing them. As firefighters despatched large machines by means of the smoldering web site to make it secure, officers again at headquarters made plans to dispatch two vans’ value of toys to the church by 5 p.m.
“We’re nonetheless going to do what we meant to do,” mentioned Jose Montiel, a congregant who, alongside together with his spouse, Lourdes, helped manage the toy drive and signed up greater than 600 needy households.
In the meantime, all throughout Pomona and past, members of the group heard in regards to the catastrophe and rushed to Victory Outreach to save lots of the vacation for the church’s kids.
Round 11 a.m., Steve Ybarra arrived on the scene of the catastrophe with a pickup truck filled with presents. Ybarra is a pastor of the close by Considerable Dwelling Household Church. His congregation held their toy drive a day earlier, he mentioned, and had some leftover presents. When he heard in regards to the hearth, he mentioned, “it broke my coronary heart.”
A couple of minutes later, one other girl from the neighborhood, Carole Glass, walked up holding a toy to contribute — a stuffed dragon. “It’s extra vital to provide to somebody who actually wants it,” she mentioned.
Behind them stood the ruined church. On the spot the place the door was once, one ingredient had survived: A small Christmas tree in a golden pot that someway escaped the flames.
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