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House fire in Aurora proves heroics, grace and kindness are alive and well in some neighborhoods

Pastor giving back less than 24 hours after fire
Posted at 10:00 PM, Jul 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-31 12:19:24-05

AURORA, Colo. -- For most of us, a fire ripping through part of our home, even if there were no injuries, would be enough to knock us down and out for a couple days.

Not the Estrada family of Aurora.

Despite a fire on Monday that displaced Pastor Gonzalo Estrada, his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter – they were back to the business of taking care of their community less than 24 hours later.

“People just need a little help right now,” Estrada said.

We caught up with Pastor Estrada exactly where he always is on Tuesday evenings, setting up a food bank at his church in Aurora.

“We’ve got tortillas, fresh bread, turkey, mangos,” he said. “We’ve done this for almost 12 years."

The Centro Nueva Vida Church distributes about 100 boxes of food to families every Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.

"The first car will come in, park, they open the trunk and then we just put the food in," said Tavo Carreno. “It only takes about an hour.”

"We're living in hard times and we want to make sure every family has food," said Jennifer Estrada, Gonzalo’s niece.

The fire Monday appears to have started in a backyard shed, quickly spreading to two homes.

Father and son Javier and Brandon Cordero literally busted down doors and fences to save their friends and neighbors.

“I broke the backdoor, the fence, and I just grabbed the lady and pulled her out of the house," Javier said.

"I just told them to get somewhere safe and away from the fire," Brandon said.

From the heroes next door, to the champions feeding a community.

"We do this with all the love we have in our hearts,” said Jennifer Estrada.

“My wife is okay, my daughter is okay, my granddaughter is okay,” Pastor Estrada said. “And the neighbor is okay, too. So that's the most important."