Vacaville Firefighters Band Together To Help Family Who Lost Apartment To Water Damage
VACAVILLE (CBS13) — A mom and two young girls are counting their blessings after the Vacaville Fire Department lent a helping hand right before the holidays.
It was a typical early morning for Monica Campbell and one of her young daughters at their Vacaville apartment on December 11. But, that all changed when a neighbor came pounding on their door.
"I looked out and there was just chunks of burning chimney. And then I ran back inside I got her and we got out," Campbell, a U.S. Air Force Reserve member, said.
Monica and her two little girls' home took on too much water damage as the Vacaville Fire Department raced to put out a chimney fire happening in the unit above theirs. 
"Immediately she, you know, started to cry," Engineer Brian Buathier of Vacaville Fire Department said when describing the moment. He told Campbell that her apartment would likely be condemned.
"What really struck and really tugged at my heart the most was her 11-year-old daughter threw her arms around her mom and said, 'It's going to get better mom. It's going to be okay,'" Buathier said.
This firefighter was determined to work with the department's charity board to make sure it would be okay.
"I just put together a proposal for the board and it's a nine-person board. And it was unanimous decision to give her a thousand dollars through our charity fund," Buathier said.
It's an act of kindness that floored Campbell.
"He called me and said, 'We're trying to get some help for you.' I didn't know what it was at first," Campbell said. "Then I got the check and I broke down in tears."
Engineer Buathier also got Campbell and her kids a $250 donation through a different fire victims foundation. Pure joy washing over this mother of two that all came from the act of kindness meant to help to save this holiday season from being washed out.
"It restores my faith in humanity. That there are good people in the world," Campbell said.
"It makes it all worth the job," Buathier said.
Campbell said that her apartment complex was able to place her in a different unit in the complex. She said the latest donation will help to get her little girls' Christmas presents this year.
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