Firefighters throw birthday party for 6-year-old boy after family loses everything in a house fire

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
Updated
A six-year-old boy's house burned down just hours before his birthday party was set to begin. Two days later, firefighters in Buffalo, New York threw him a surprise party. (Photo: Facebook)
A six-year-old boy's house burned down just hours before his birthday party was set to begin. Two days later, firefighters in Buffalo, New York threw him a surprise party. (Photo: Facebook)

A team of firefighters went above and beyond the call of duty on Sunday when they threw a birthday party for a boy whose house had just burned down.

Days before, in Thursday, Jamia Jones of Buffalo, New York, had just returned from buying some last-minute items at Party City for her son Erick Hill’s 6th birthday party, set to happen that afternoon. Instead, the mother and son saw their house “up in flames.” And just like that, the family had lost everything, including Erick's birthday presents, according to WGRZ.

But on Sunday, Buffalo Fire Department's Engine 33 surprised Erick with an extraordinary birthday celebration.

"We decided to get together, throw him a birthday party, shower him with a lot of gifts, invite his family here and show him that there is a second family out there that he can rely on," Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo said.

For the celebration, the firefighters pulled together a party complete with trucks full of gifts and an appearance by his favorite superhero, Batman, plus a few other super friends.

Erick was even named an honorary member of Engine 33, and firefighter Brian Madison presented a brand new toy boy he had built especially for all of Erick’s swag.

"There's no amount of thanks that you can give for all of this," Jones said. "All the gifts, all the time, they didn't have to do it... and I'm just so grateful."

"If we can take his mind off the stress for an afternoon, then it was a job well done," John Otto, the vice president of Buffalo Fire Fighters Local 282, who helped organize the party, told CNN. "Mission accomplished."

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to help them recover from the loss.

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