TAMPA - Eight-year-old Gerardo Perez doesn't hesitate when asked what he and his family lost in a Nov. 29 fire that gutted their apartment.
"Toys, books, Playstation games and our beds," he said Monday.
"My money, my books, my TV and a lot of clothes," his 10-year-old sister, Yuraisys Diaz, added.
Tracy Gonzalez, Gerardo's teacher at Egypt Lake Elementary School, couldn't bear to hear the sad litany. So she spoke to her husband, Tampa Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic Danny Gonzalez, about a way to give the children an early Christmas.
On Monday, firefighters from Fire Station 12, along with teachers from Egypt Lake Elementary School, brought the family gifts and money they had collected.
"He's a sweet boy, sweet family. And I can't even imagine what they thought when they went home," Tracy Gonzalez said. "To know that he lost everything. All he had was what he was wearing."
The children were among 40 people forced to find a new home after faulty electronics in a first-floor unit at the Lakeshore Club apartments on North Himes Avenue sparked a fire that gutted an entire building.
"We're all trying to help you get back on your feet again," Capt. Russell Spicola said as he and the other firefighters held gift bags. "We care about you a lot."
Tracy Gonzalez also found furniture for the family.
The children said the gifts were extra-special and something they will always remember.
"When someone has something like that happen to them, I should help them, like they helped me before," Yuraisys said.
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