Clovis North students behind goodwill gesture for firefighters battling Rough Fire
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two Clovis North students are on a crusade to help firefighters battling the Rough Fire. They are collecting pillows and other toiletries to make the moments away from the fire a little more comfortable.
Cody Williams and Nick Avakian are packing up their next load to take to firefighters who are working to put out the Rough Fire. Over the weekend, the childhood friends took a truckload of plush pillows to the command post in Squaw Valley. They bought them using donations from friends and family.
Avakian said, "I didn't realize it was only like a 40 minute drive from here. There's like thousands of firefighters up there. It was just really a humbling experience to see them all dirty and worn down and not having basic supplies."
The giving spirit is catching on in the community, thanks to the help of Facebook... The boys have collected everything from toothbrushes, chapstick, shaving cream and shampoo to help crews feel more at home during their extended stay on the firelines.
Williams added, "Once you come up over the hill, there's firefighters everywhere, just in tents sleeping on the ground and stuff so we had a firefighter super excited to get pillows. He took two pillows and was yelling about having a firefighter pillow fight. He was just really excited to get a pillow to sleep on."
The teens got the idea after a friend who lives near the fire told them fire crews could use some donations. So they started little by little. They never imagined the response would be so immediate and overwhelming.
"Oh yea, I'm completely surprised," said Avakian. "Who would have thought two teenage boys 16 and 17 years old would be able to do something this big, it makes me feel better."
Donations are being collected at Clovis North High School, and the boys are challenging other local high schools to join in for a good cause.
Clovis North High School
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