Donations needed after early-morning house fire


Fire displaces Steven Hill at 2505 7th Avenue in Haleyville.

HALEYVILLE - Efforts of local individuals and churches, are underway to help a Haleyville homeowner get back on his feet, after being displaced by an early morning fire that destroyed his residence. Steven Hill left his residence, located at 2505 7th Avenue, at 4:10 a.m.  Friday, April 1, to go to his job at Fontaine Trailer Company, but received a call at work around 5:16 a.m. from a family member on a fire department, that his house was on fire. “When I woke up, I could see, it was blazing over there,” said neighbor Angela Mauldin, who lives across the street. “So when I woke up this morning and saw it, I came to the front door and I called the police department then called the fire department. “It’s sad when you leave to go to work like that and get a call that you have lost everything,” Mauldin said. After receiving a call at work about the fire, Hill was brought to his residence by a supervisor at his job. “I lost everything,” Hill said in a broken voice. “I’m lost in thought right now. I can’t really think very well,” Hill said at the scene, standing near his mother Regina Gates as well as neighbors and friends who had stopped to offer encouragement. The Haleyville Fire Department was called out at 4:55 a.m. to a fully involved structure fire, noted Acting Fire Chief Terrell Baccus. Responding to provide assistance were Pebble and Bear Creek departments, as firefighters attached a hose to a hydrant about 50 feet away, also using the water capacity from their trucks, Baccus said. Firefighters applied 10,000 to 12,000 gallons of water to beat down the blaze within a matter of minutes, according to Baccus. Then came to task of checking for any hot spots. with firefighters finally clearing the scene around 8:48 a.m., he added. Baccus described fire damage as heavy. “The roof is gone,” he said. Cause of the fire is being investigated by the Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office, Baccus confirmed. Major relief effort being organized Mauldin is organizing a relief effort for Hill. She has already posted on a local website with responses from churches reaching out to make donations. “I am just trying to post it on Facebook and trying to get the community to come together and help the young man,” Mauldin pointed out. Mauldin brought food and clothing from her house across the street to help Hill in the fire’s aftermath. “It’s a sad situation,” she said. Mauldin was welcoming any donations to be brought to her residence at 2500 7th Avenue in Haleyville. These donations can be in the form of toiletries, clothing, food to furniture. Monetary donations can also be provided for the family. Also donations to help Hill with the basic necessities can be made by contacting him at 205-485-4123 or his mother Regina Gates at 205-272-1810. “All he has is what’s on his back right now,” his mother said. “It’s just devastation. He’s lived here right at five years. “All you can do is be there for him. He can go up to my house,” Gates noted.


See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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