Bay Area Fire Association creates GoFundMe for heroic Redding firefighters who lost homes

Byby Amanda del Castillo KGO logo

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Bay Area Fire Association creates GoFundMe for heroic Redding firefighters who lost homes

The Alameda County Firefighters Association Local 55 recently created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Redding firefighters who were personally impacted by the Carr Fire, burning in Shasta County.

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- The Alameda County Firefighters Association Local 55 recently created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Redding firefighters who were personally impacted by the Carr Fire, burning in Shasta County.

The fire is the largest of more than a dozen wildfires continuing to burn across California.

The Carr Fire destroyed the homes of three Redding firefighters and killed a Redding fire inspector.

In a true combination of heartbreak and unparalleled heroism, the city's fire department has continued to battle what is now being described as the sixth most destructive fire in the state's history.

The Carr Fire has burned more than 1,500 structures since igniting in late-July.

Among the six people killed was Redding Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke.

"My understanding of his duties that night is he was simply assisting in evacuations," Alameda County Fire Captain Joe Baldwin told ABC7 News.

The hometown hero was on the front lines like so many others. The Carr Fire hasn't cut Redding firefighters a break since it sparked. Many have been unable to take more than a moment to properly grieve the loss of a brother, or to get things in order after losing their home.

BEFORE AND AFTER: Redding neighborhood destroyed by Carr Fire

"They're still active out on the lines, trying to defend those neighborhoods," Captain Baldwin said. "They're trying to save others, their friends, families and neighbors from suffering the same thing that they did."

Their pain is being felt across the country, including in the Bay Area.

Former Redding firefighter, Gabriel Maric, said he worked alongside Stoke before joining Alameda County Fire. Maric said he was watching the Carr Fire devastation from a distance when he learned about his friend's death.

"I got a phone call the next morning, and that's when I got the bad news that Jeremy had passed away that night in the fire," he said. "We both were assigned to Station 8 while I was up there for a good period of time. I was able to work hand-in-hand with him on multiple occasions. You can rely on that guy on just about anything you need."

That's why Maric felt compelled to do something when he heard about his friend's death, and the destruction to firefighters' homes.

He said he alerted the Alameda County Firefighters Association Local 55 who then created the GoFundMe page to offer some relief to those who lost their homes, and to the family who lost their hero.

"It might not make a big dent in what's to come," Maric said. "But even if it helps them with groceries for a period of time, that's all I can ask."

Prior to the Carr Fire tearing through Redding, the city's fire department also lost its Fire Chief on July 2nd.

To donate to the GoFundMe page, visit it here.

Get the latest on the Carr Fire here, the Complex Fire here and the latest on wildfires across California here.

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