Gift cards can ‘SAVE’ victims of fire, disaster

The Merced Fire Department has joined in a partnership that will allow it to provide a gift card to the victims of a fire or natural disaster in an attempt to meet their most basic needs.

With help from the California Fire Foundation, the Fire Department is part of the Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency program, or SAVE.

The department will distribute $100 gift cards to eligible victims of fire or other natural disasters in Merced so they can buy food, clothing, medicine or fill other immediate needs. Jim Evans, an engineer with the department, said the gift cards are given out immediately with no paperwork and “no questions asked” to homeowners or renters.

The gift cards are provided through the nonprofit foundation, so they are paid for through donations. No tax dollars are spent on the cards.

The Fire Department’s battalion chiefs will carry the gift cards on calls every day. If the department is called to an emergency in which a property has damage of more than 25 percent of its total value, a $100 gift card will be given to the resident – on the spot.

Evans said victims often lose credit cards, photo ID and other belongings in a fire, so the cards could be useful to them. “It’s the worst thing these families are going through,” he said.

Firefighters are directly involved with the fire victims and have an emotional and personal investment, he said, so the crews are glad to be able to lend a hand through the cards.

The California Fire Foundation is a nonprofit formed by the California Professional Firefighters in 1987. The SAVE program started this fall and operates in about 20 communities in California.

This story was originally published December 1, 2014 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Gift cards can ‘SAVE’ victims of fire, disaster."