Foster family and special needs children back home again
In the very early hours of February 2020, the call rang out in Saint Cloud Fire Station 31 for a house fire at 900 Alabama Avenue, just seven short blocks from the station.
That address was the home of Gail Foster and 11 others, a refuge to care for those with special needs, including six children.
“I felt a moment of fear; that was one place I never wanted to hear a fire call,” said Chad Peterson, Assistant Chief of Operations for “C” Shift, the first unit in line to respond. “We knew the family from responding to periodic medical calls that came in for the special needs children who lived there or were fostered there. I immediately called for additional units to respond.”
Those units did respond but were diverted to a second house fire that broke out two blocks away.
That morning, St. Cloud firefighters rescued six people with special needs, including children, from the blazing house. The fire was so intense that oxygen bottles stored in a Florida room out back burst, the contents contributing to the flames.
All of the occupants made it out of the house with no injuries. However, half of the roof was burned through, and the house was gutted on the inside. Now just 16 months later, the completely reconstructed house is a home again, thanks to donations from the community, the efforts of a local construction company, and well-wishers across the country.
This past Saturday morning, the extended Foster family and their wards, representatives from Snow Construction, and the “C” Shift firefighters came together for a joyous ribbon-cutting and celebration.
As she arrived at the home, Gail Foster’s view was intentionally obstructed by fire vehicles parked on the corner of Alabama and 9th Street, and then pulled away in a dramatic, reality TV-style reveal. The new home was completely reconstructed from the ground up, with the needs of the home’s special residents in mind.
“This will be the first time in 15 years I have my own bedroom, and a shower big enough to bring wheelchairs in,” Gail said.
A large kitchen and rows of washers and dryers attest to the volume of daily activity needed to care for the family and residents.
“Our fire crews have known and worked with this family for 25 years, and have so much respect and admiration for this family and the impact they have on the lives of these children,” wrote Maryemma Bachelder, Communications Director for the City of Saint Cloud, in a press release.
After the ceremony, the firefighters performed a (hopefully never needed again) “pre-fire” planning walkthrough to familiarize themselves with the new layout of the home and the special needs of the children who are now living there.
More than $31,000 has been donated via GoFundMe, including contributions from Saint Cloud and Orange County firefighters. The funding goal is $50,000 and the page is still active.
This Gofundme.com site is not managed by the Osceola News-Gazette. For more information on how the site works and the rules, visit www. gofundme.com/safety.
See the photo page on Page 20.
