The evening of October 16, 2013, a young Peoria couple experienced a tragic, devastating accident that destroyed their home and all of their personal belongings. They sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50% of their bodies and have gone through a lengthy hospital stay. Their recovery process has been long and they still have a ways to go, but they are working toward it with ground breaking skin grafts, multiple surgeries, positive attitudes, and help from their family and friends, as well as the community.

To help, AFSCME Local 3282 teamed up with The Peoria Firefighters Charities, to gather donations for this family in need. Several organizations and groups have rallied together to help this family get back to something they can call home, with many local businesses donating or reducing the costs for goods and services to support this family. Reconstruction on the home is now complete, but we are still working to gather fixtures and personal items that need to be replaced. (Furniture and bedding, appliances, clothing, towels and linens, pantry and food stuffs, laundry items, yard and garage implements, etc. All the little items that are taken for granted on a daily basis. If you can help, please do!)

A "house warming" ceremony took place on for May 23, 2015, where we had the opportunity to thank donors for an overwhelming show of generosity. Not only did the community come out to show their support, we were honored to host members of Peoria's City Council, including Mayor Cathy Carlat, Vice Mayor Jon Edwards, and Councilmembers Vicki Hunt, Carlo Leone, Michael Finn, and Bridget Binsbacher. Also in attendance were multiple news organizations, providing coverage (Channel 3, Channel 5, Channel 10, Channel 15, the Peoria Times and Glendale-Peoria Today). We even had a surprise guest... Arizona Coyotes "Howler"!!!! Visit our image gallery page to see pictures!!!

The AFSMCE Angels and The Peoria Firefighters Charities are a "non-profit charitable organization" with a 501(c)(3) tax identification number. Please check with your accounting department, as to the IRS tax donation deductions available. To submit a donation and receive a letter with the 501(c)(3) information, please submit your request via the form at the bottom of the page. (Additionally, please feel free to send a copy of your company logo, for inclusion on a follow up sponsor/donor listing appreciation page. Email logos to: administrator@afsmce3282.org)

Currently, this charity is not accepting cash/check donations, although gift cards are acceptable. However, if you would like to contribute monetarily, the couple’s families are accepting assistance from the community to help pay for damages and medical expenses. To do so, please fill out the form below.

Thank you, in advance, for choosing to donate to this worthy cause and a HUGE thank you to those who have already donated.

The Accident

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Recovery

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Tiara Del Rio, 21, and her boyfriend were seriously burned when a Peoria home exploded. Now she's finally made it out of the hospital, through rehab and returns home.

Beau Zimbro and his girlfriend, Tiara Del Rio, were seriously burned when the Peoria home they were inside exploded. Zimbro has spent 108 days recovering in the hospital, most of which he was unconscious for. Del Rio was released from the hospital two weeks ago.