Monterey and Seaside Fire Departments offer on-the-spot aid for fire victims

Normally a firefighters job is over when the flames and smoke are out but now local firefighters are helping victims after a disaster strikes.

Monterey and Seaside Fire Departments are the first on the peninsula to join the “Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency” (SAVE) partnership.

“On a lot of these fires everything people have is tied up in there and your heart goes out to them,” saidCapt. Jerry Suarez.

Suarez said he has seen it first hand, charred belongings scattered and frantic victims sorting through what’s left.
“You think to yourself, gosh what would you do as an individual even myself if everything I owned was just burnt to the ground?” said Juarez.

Now firefighters can do something about it. The aid provided by the firefighters looks just like a credit card. It’s a little piece of plastic with $100 available for anything from clothing to food. The card can be activated right at the scene of the fire -if 25 percent or more of the home is damaged.
Seaside handed out a SAVE card three weeks ago – after a fire broke out at an apartment complex on Hilby Avenue.

“It was a child’s bedroom, and everything was in that bedroom. The beds were destroyed, a lot of the clothes were damaged by smoke,” said Juarez.

The family who lostits apartment told News Channel 5its in temporary housing and used the card firefighters have then for new clothes for the family.
That’s a perfect example of why Monterey and Seaside fire departments said they joined the program.

“It’s very disheartening to see. It really hurts to watch the people experiencing the devastating loss that a fire can be,” said Monterey Fire Chief Gaudenz Panholzer.

Money for the SAVE cards mostly comes from firefighters’ own pockets all over the state. The rest is supplied through corporate sponsors.