For eight long months, one expecting Florida woman worked hard to make sure she had everything she could possibly need and was prepared to give birth to her first child.
Yet just weeks before her due date, an electrical problem caused Nicola Taylor’s apartment to catch on fire. Not only was her home completely destroyed, but also everything inside, including all of the baby gifts she received from a baby shower just days before.
Photo by CBS Miami
“I was blindsided. Getting out was my main goal at the time. The smoke was heavy and black. I couldn’t see what was going on,” said Nicola, who was napping when the fire started. Everyone in the apartment thankfully made it out alive, but they were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. “The apartment was completely gutted down to the concrete,” said fire department spokesman Captain Jerry Gonzalez. “They’re a low-income family. They had all these gifts in the apartment, and everything was lost.”
Firefighters at the scene noticed burned baby items in the remains of the fire and found out that the 30-year-old mom-to-be had lost her previous baby, and knew they had to do something to help. “A lot of young guys we have in our department are new dads themselves, so it touched their hearts. They wanted to do something,” Gonzalez said. “I put myself in their shoes and said, what would I do if I lost everything,” said Lauderdhill Fire Rescue’s B.J. Smith. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Photo by Facebook/Lauderhill Fire Rescue Station 57
The firefighters started collecting donations and started a GoFundMe campaign. After a week they had collected over $5,000 and all the items Nicola could need like a crib, diapers, clothes, and even beds for the rest of the family. The amazing crew then threw Nicola another baby shower and surprised her with the gifts as well as the keys to a new apartment, which they had rented for her using the money they collected and their own money to pay the deposit and the first few months of rent.
“No words, no words can express how I feel. There’s somebody to call every day. Even if the Fire Marshal doesn’t call, there’s somebody to call to ask if we’ve eaten, if we’re okay or they stop by to see us,” said Nicola. “All I had on my back was one shirt and one pants. I really appreciate what everybody has done for me,” Nicola’s dad, Glendon Daley, said in tears.
Photo by CBS Miami
Watch the entire video below to see how this expecting mom reacted when she realized what a bunch of firemen did for her family.
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