It's been a tough time for those living in Texas for the past couple of weeks after winter weather led to a loss of power and drinkable water, but on Thursday, firefighters in Hartford collected bottled water to send to the Dallas area.
The firefighters are collecting the water at the Walmart on Flatbush Avenue.
Between Thursday and Friday they hope to receive anywhere from 300 to 500 cases of water. Those cases will be sent to Dallas Fire and Rescue to be distributed to those in need.
"It should touch everybody's hearts. It literally touched my heart," said Gerry Pagan, a lieutenant with the Hartford Fire Department and organizer of the event. "I was like 'man this is horrible I can’t believe this is happening here in the United States of America so what can I do?' Well, here I am today."
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Captain Shelly Carter, founder and CEO of Girls Future Firefighter Camp, thought it was vital to get assistance for those in Texas.
"Even though things are thawing out for them, they are really at a deficit with their water.," Carter said. "They are not used to the severe weather that they have experienced over the past few weeks. We want to help them. We’re not just servant leaders here, we're servant leaders around the country."
East Hartford resident Kelli Capoldo heard about the water donation from a friend and dropped off ten cases of water.
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"I just thought it was a simple act of kindness and to really just help people in your community to support a friend and to support a cause and something to do good," Capoldo said.
The group will be at Walmart on Flatbush Avenue in Hartford on Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
