Firefighters battle blaze, then deliver donations

EAST WHITELAND >> Donations were collected and delivered by a local fire company to a family whose apartment burned down on Christmas Eve.

At about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 24, the East Whiteland Fire Company received a call for a working fire in the 500 block of Lancaster Avenue, next to the Wawa on Planebrook Road.

East Whiteland Fire Company President Gary Sheridan said that the family was at church during the fire, and that the apartment building was empty.

Sheridan said the cause of the fire, determined to be accidental, rendered the apartment building a “complete loss.”

Firefighters cleared the scene at about 12:30 a.m. Christmas Day. East Whiteland was assisted by Malvern, Berwyn, Goshen, and Air 52.

But in the spirit of the holiday season, several members of the fire company started a Go-

FundMe page for the family, and for the next couple of days collected donations they gave to the family.

The fire company had set up a donation bin at the Wawa and asked for community donations to help the family that, in their own words, “lost all they had.”

Firefighters asked for gift cards and other small items to help support the family, which they delivered on Tuesday evening.

“The family watched with great delight and surprise as the much-needed donations kept coming in the front door,” the department wrote on its Facebook page.

The items were delivered in the back of an East Whiteland ambulance.

“We are blessed to have such a wonderful and giving community,” the department wrote. “The GoFundMe account will remain active until later this week as donations are still being made.”

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe account set up by the fire company had raised more than $5,000 and the page had been shared 352 times; 112 people have donated so far, with amounts ranging from $25 to $100.

The Norristown Fire Department assisted East

“The family watched with great delight and surprise as the much-needed donations kept coming in the front door.” — The East Whiteland Fire Company department wrote on its Facebook page

Whiteland Fire Company with donation delivery.

SUBMITTED PHOTO — EAST WHITELAND FIRE COMPANY Firefighters collected donations for a family who lost everything in a fire on Christmas Eve. The donations were given to the family Tuesday evening.