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Firefighters Help Victims Get Back On Their Feet With Gift Cards

WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — When you hear "no one was hurt" in a house fire, that's not the end of the story. Families are often left distraught, and many times with just the clothes on their back.

A firefighting nonprofit group steps up to change that, giving gift cards along with a little hope to fire victims on their worst day.

"You've put out their fire; you've tried to collect their belongings, but at the end of the day, these fire engines go back to work, and really you feel at a loss," said West Sacramento Fire Chief Rick Martinez.

He's seen it countless times—house fire victims left with no food, clothes or even wallets.

"They're really kind of overrun. They're at best confused and sometimes very anxious," he said.

The nonprofit California Fire Foundation is rolling out a new program to help. It's called Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency, or SAVE. Incident commanders at the scene of a residential fire can make one phone call, activate a $100 gift card and give it to a family.

"SAVE isn't going to make anyone whole, it's not designed to be that way," said Cosumnes Fire Chief Tracey Hansen.

Hansen says the gift cards let victims know they are not alone.

"Somebody who we issued a card to just a couple of days ago, she explained that it made a huge difference in just feeling supported by her community," she said.

More than 40 departments in California are already participating in the program. The foundation's goal is to get every department on board. It's completely funded by donations, most of which come from firefighters themselves.

"It really offers, for the people we serve, some hope, and for us, a feeling that we're doing something that matters," Martinez said.

Fire departments give out the SAVE cards to families whose homes are at least 25 percent lost by fire or natural disaster.

Since August, more than 100 cards have been handed out.

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