At 5:15 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, Veronica Cruz was still sleeping soundly in her Tampa apartment.
A few minutes later, her home was engulfed in flames.
As the fire started, the Tomlin Middle School teacher was awakened by a neighbor banging loudly on the door of her apartment. In a blur, Cruz grabbed her keys, her purse, important papers and her German Shepherd, Flore, before running out the door for the very last time.
“I didn’t have time to think about anything else,” Cruz said.
In the days following the fire, which ruined 16 apartments in Cruz’s complex, the Tomlin Middle School and Plant City communities have reached out to help Cruz get back on her feet. A GoFundMe account has been set up for the educator, who has been teaching entry-level Spanish at Tomlin for about five years. She also teaches English to native Spanish speakers part-time at the Ana G. Mendez University System in Tampa.
“I’m so grateful,” Cruz said. “I just feel so overwhelmed, I feel so amazed. You know that you have people that care for you … but you just don’t know how many people.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown, and most items were ruined beyond the point of repair. Cruz’s apartment sustained major water and smoke damage, and she stayed at a nearby hotel for one week after the fire. Residents were allowed to stand outside of their apartments in the days after the accident while firefighters retrieved their charred belongings from piles of rubble.
“There was not much that could have been salvaged,” Cruz said.
But Cruz is moving past the fateful morning. Her students have sent her letters and messages, and she has received gift cards, a bedroom set, toiletries and more from both friends and strangers.
“It was such a nice feeling to know that during adversity you have so many people supporting you,” she said. “(The kids) come see me and hug me.”
Cruz is so close to her Tomlin support system that the first person she called after the fire was her fellow Spanish teacher, Mareda Westerman.
“She was the first person I called (even) before my mom,” Cruz said. “She called me every day. We’re very good friends.”
Westerman and the rest of the faculty have served as a second family for Cruz during the recent ordeal. Cruz, who is originally from New York, has a sister who lives in Tampa, but many of her family members live in New York and Puerto Rico.
“They’ve been that family,” Cruz said, noting that even parents of her fellow coworkers have reached out to help her. “People that don’t even know me have helped me. I feel so blessed.”
Cruz will be moving into her new apartment this week. Although she still needs some items, she said she is in a much better place thanks to the help of the people around her.
“Thank you to all those people that helped me in this moment, in getting my life back together faster,” Cruz said. “Thank you to Tomlin Middle School and the Plant City community for their donations. I could not have recovered without them, honestly. I have so much support.”
Cruz said she won’t be the same moving forward but is excited to return to the classroom.
“Teaching, that’s what I love,” Cruz said. “Life has to go on. God is always with me, and I know He will provide me with everything.”
To make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page, gofundme.com/w96sbn2s.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
