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Community Rallies Around Animal Control Officer Who 'Lost Everything' To Fire

A city community is rallying around its Animal Control Officer after his home was destroyed in a 3-alarm fire.

Erick Velez on the job

Erick Velez on the job

Photo Credit: GoFundMe
Erick Velez (right)

Erick Velez (right)

Photo Credit: GoFundMe

On Friday, Dec. 18, at around 7 p.m., Erik Velez came home from shopping and found his Lina Lane condo in West Springfield was on fire.

He was able to save the people inside - his mother and partner - as well as his pet parrot Kwazii, but everything else is gone, according to a GoFundMe started by Jessecah Gower for Velez.

The fire was part of a larger fire that swept through a condominium complex off Brush Hill Road on Friday. It was a 3-alarm fire. The condo complex has seven units - four of which were heavily damaged, according to MassLive. No injuries were reported. It is unclear what started the fire.

Velez, who is Holyoke’s AOC, has been an animal control officer in Hampden County for over 15 years.

Gower is seeking to raise $10,000 for the ACO Erick Velez Fire Relief fund. As of Tuesday, Dec. 22, more than $6,000 had been pledged.

On the fundraiser page, Velez is described as someone who “helps people and their animals during their worst times offering kindness, empathy, and resources. While he protects those without a voice day in and day out, he is also the guy we count on to always lend an ear or shoulder to his fellow colleagues, friends, and family. Erick never loses his smile, goofiness, and infectious laugh which is why he is such a special person. Now the one who is always there to help others needs our help.”

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