By Police1 Staff
PIMA COUNTY, Ariz. — After a young girl lost most of her belongings in a fire, several Arizona deputies knew they had to make her day a little brighter.
The Arizona Republic reports that Pima County deputies first encountered the 11-year-old girl on Tuesday morning while responding to a fire at her home, which took several hours to put out. Sgt. Kevin Kubitskey said the young girl told him that the fire took everything her family had, including their Christmas gifts. While trying to stay positive and smiling through her tears, the girl said the item she was most torn up about losing was her bike.
After hearing her story, the deputies knew what to do next.
After news reporters left, the deputies brought out a brand new bike they all pitched in for minutes earlier. The young girl’s tears of sadness turned into happiness.
“She just crumbled,” Kubitskey said. “She cried and cried and wouldn’t even touch it. We finally had to convince her to get on the bike.”
Kubitskey said the officers watched the girl ride the bike around before parking it and retrieving the emergency blanket she had. She went around and asked each officer to sign her blanket.
“The level of her positivity, you could see she was a brilliant young girl,” Kubitskey said. “And you could tell, despite her living conditions, despite the deck of cards she was given in life, there was nothing that could keep her down. You don’t see that very often.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help them in their time of need.