Florida firefighters recently went above and beyond the call of duty after responding to a fire in an expectant mother’s home.
Nicola Taylor of Lauderhill, Florida woke up from a nap on April 10 to the smell of smoke. The eight-month pregnant mom-to-be pulled the fire alarm inside the apartment building. Fortunately, Taylor, her father, cousin and cousin’s 2-year-old daughter managed to escape unharmed. But her apartment was completely destroyed.
And, on top of that, Taylor celebrated her baby shower just two days before. Everything she had received was lost in the blaze.
Firefighters Moved To Help
The firefighters who responded to Taylor’s situation felt moved to help.
“[The firefighters] were seeing a whole bunch of burned up baby items and it was very emotional for the guys, being parents themselves, it hit home,” Captain Gerry Gonzalez told ABC News. They were compelled to do something. Something touched us about this family.”
So firefighters from the Lauderhill Fire Department threw her another baby shower.
Baby Shower Gives Family Hope
Captain Gonzalez set up a GoFundMe page to help make the shower a reality. Within a couple of days, the page raised more than $5,000.
Firefighters invited Taylor and her family to Fire Rescue Station 57 under the pretense of picking up donations given by the community. Instead, she found a surprise baby shower and received keys to a brand new apartment with three months rent paid in advance.
“There’s no words to describe it,” Taylor, 30, told ABC News. “My dad, he cried. That explains it all. I never see my dad in tears. I would like to tell the fire department, ‘Thank you.’ I would like to say [to] everybody who donated, ‘Thank you, and thanks for the well wishes.'”
For now she plans to focus on her due date and becoming a new mom. Taylor says she intends to share the story of this baby shower with her daughter when she’s older.
“It’s so overwhelming,” Taylor’s father, Glenton Daley, 50, told ABC News. “I don’t know how to thank them. “I was worried…it was painful and unbearable and these angels came along and stood by me. I’m so thankful.”
Taylor told NBC Miami 6 that the firefighters have visited regularly since to fire to check up on her.
“I see hope. It’s a little bit better than before. A lot better,” she said
This story originally appeared on TheDelite. Checkout TheDelite for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
