New Fairfield residents help displaced pastor's family
OUR COMMUNITY HAS MANY SAFETY NETS AND AS MANY FACELESS VOLUNTEERS WORKING AND VOLUNTEERING THEIR TIME YEAR AROUND IN MANY WAYS TO ENSURE THE NET CATCHES THOSE IN NEED. MANY THANKS TO KEVIN AND GUYLLEN HART FOR PROVIDING SHELTER FOR THIS UNFORTUNATE FAMILY. OUR PRAYERS GO OUT TO THEM.
Stacy Davis, Staff Writer
Published: 08:48 p.m., Thursday, December 23, 2010
- The Dos Santos home on Possum Drive in New Fairfield, which was recently destroyed by a fire, is shown Dec. 22, 2010. Photo: Chris Ware / The News-Times | Buy This Photo
NEW FAIRFIELD -- The day before his house burned down, the Rev. Edival Dos Santos, talked to the congregation at his church about giving to others.
Little did he know he would soon be on the receiving end, said Dos Santos, who is an evangelist at Philadelphia Ministry Assembly of God in Danbury.
Dos Santos said the fireplace was lit Thursday night at his home at 10 Possum Drive. Before he and his family went to bed about 11, he made sure the fire was put out.
But about 1 a.m., Dos Santos woke up and smelled smoke.
"It was very dark," he said. "There was no electricity."
Dos Santos, wife Zilma, and sons Samuel, 13, and Daniel, 11, escaped the house unharmed, but they were barely clothed, he said. "It was very cold."
Just as they were getting out of the house, the police and firefighters arrived. Dos Santos credited one of his neighbors for calling the police.
The firefighters tackled the fire, Dos Santos said.
"When they opened the roof, a big flame came out," he said. "The fire was inside the chimney."
Dos Santos said Hodge asked him and his family what they needed.
"Everything we needed was in the house," Dos Santos said.
The only things Dos Santos said he was able to rescue were his bicycle and an Xbox for his sons.
"These folks were completely wiped out," Hodge said.
Hodge started calling around town, and with the help of Selectman Susan Chapman, the Red Cross, local businesses, and residents making donations, he was able to completely furnish a house for the Dos Santos family to live in for three months free of charge.
Melissa Luks Fidanza, a realtor for Luks Realty, said Hodge called her Friday about 11 a.m. Because of her connections and residents' generosity, she was able to show Dos Santos and his family a few local vacant homes. By 2 p.m., they were matched with one.
Fidanza called Kevin and Guyllen Hart, who were vacationing in Florida, but decided to let the Dos Santos family use their home anyway.
"It was basically an instant decision," said Guyllen Hart. "At Christmas-time they lost everything."
"Once they saw the house, they were thrilled with the house itself and physically moved with emotion," Fidanza said.
Dos Santos and his family moved in Saturday.
"Everything we needed was in the (temporary) house -- toothpaste ¦ everything," Dos Santos said. "I could not ask for more."
People even donated a Christmas tree and gifts for the children, he said.
"We'll have a nice Christmas. "God uses people. God took care of us."
Contact Stacy Davis at sdavis@newstimes.com or 203-731-3331.
Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/New-Fairfield-residents-help-displaced-pastor-s-918485.php#ixzz194MBdtov
