Firefighters from the Rialto Fire Department, saddened by the fact that a family lost everything when their home was burned to ashes, brought the joy of Christmas to the Montanos, who now have a Christmas tree fully loaded with decorated branches. The firefighters even took the family on a shopping spree to outfit their new home. Gadi Schwartz reports for…
Members of the Rialto Fire Department were the embodiment of the Christmas spirit on Tuesday when they bestowed a family who lost everything in a fire with a Christmas tree, Christmas dinner, new home furnishings, new home appliances, and gifts.
The firefighters loaded up the family in fire trucks and took them on a $5,000 shopping spree at Walmart and Home Depot to outfit a new place to rent.
"The crew today is the crew that responded to that fire a week ago," said Matt Payne with the Rialto Fire Department. "It's like we are still on the call helping them out."
An electrical fire ripped through the family’s home at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday. The family credits fire alarms with saving their lives.
Everything burned -- toys, clothing, even all their money from a paycheck they had just cashed at the bank.
"They lost everything, the house was gone," Payne said.
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And as the firefighters helped set up their new home, the Montano kids shared how they feel.
"I was telling my mom that I was thinking about being a fire girl," Aaliyah Montano said.
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Just last week she thinking about what she wanted for Christmas. Now she's just glad that her family survived.
"I wanted a laptop but I don't care if I have it," Aaliyah said, "because I have my family and that's the only thing that matters."
