Town gathers for lunch
GROVE CITY — Chris Holmes, the Pine Township Engine Company chief, smiled Sunday and said the Grove City community should now be called a family.
"You see the community come together, and it just makes me really emotional," Holmes said. "Just to see all of this support. It brings everybody together that much more."
The Grove City family gathered Sunday afternoon at the Grove City Rescue Squad Station for a luncheon to benefit the Holmes family and the family of Pine Township firefighter Scott King.
Chris Holmes' brother, Brad Holmes, 21, of Grove City, who was a township firefighter, died March 5 of injuries suffered in a house fire Feb. 29 at 132 Garden Ave., Grove City. King, 24, suffered first- and third-degree burns to his arms and face in the blaze and is recovering.
One of the tenants in the house, Patricia Andrews-Smith, 40, died in the fire.
A steady line of people stood at the door as the sun filtered into the room. More than 100 people had arrived by noon.
The luncheon was a spaghetti dinner with cupcakes. Visitors could participate in a Chinese auction and raffle with more than 75 prizes donated from businesses. All of the food was donated from more than 30 restaurants and businesses.
Brad Holmes' Wal-Mart coworkers, Candy Ries and Kathy Jo Garland, organized the fundraiser. Ries worked with him for four years and said he reminded her of her own son. She said he always made her laugh.
"If he wasn't joking with you, you knew something was wrong or he wasn't feeling up to par," Ries said. "He was just nice to be around."
She said the tragedy changed her perspective on life.
"You don't know how quick it can be over," Ries said. "I went into work the day this happened, and I heard the sirens, and the life-flight helicopter goes right over my house. But I never imagined it was somebody I knew. You just don't think that."
Garland said she will never forget all of the Sundays she worked with Brad Holmes, and she said his Wal-Mart coworkers simply felt they had to do something to help.
"There has been so much love and so much pride in what Brad stood for and for what he did, and the fact that everybody is more or less honoring him for what he loved in life," Garland said. "We have tremendous support."
Garland said she would remember Brad Holmes as not only a hero, but a friend.
"He did whatever he could to help you out, and look out when his beeper went off for a fire, because he was gone," Garland said.
"He was a very dedicated firefighter, and we are all going to miss him."
A firefighter's boot sat on a table with a photograph of Brad Holmes and the sign, "Please help Brad's family," as people dropped money into the boot.
A poster of Brad greeted everyone at the door. Underneath his photograph, "The firefighter's pledge" could be read.
His fellow Pine Township firefighters wore the shirt he designed himself just a short time ago. It has a firefighter's helmet surrounded by flames.Other fundraising T-shirts designed by Superior Ambulance and the fire company also were available, with hundreds laid out on tables around the room.Brad Holmes' parents, Debbie and Joe Holmes, stood at the head of the room with other township firefighters. A friend handed them a piece of glass with a photograph of Brad on the front and a light that could turn on to illuminate his face.Debbie Holmes' son's smiling face was pinned to her jacket."It truly has been amazing how the community has come together," Debbie Holmes said. "We have received millions of cards and so much."Debbie Holmes also said her son was a hard-working student and firefighter."Bradley was pretty quiet actually, or so we thought," she said with a laugh. "He worked on computers and loved hanging out at the fire station, and he also was a full-time student at Slippery Rock University."Debbie Holmes said while her son had an undeclared major at the university, he would have most likely studied computer science.Cheri Baker of Grove City is the Holmes family's next-door neighbor. She watched Brad Holmes grow up with her two sons, and she had family photographs of the boys around age 10."I'll just remember watching him grow up — that 10-year-old little boy who would come over and play with my kids, and he always had a smile on his face," Baker said. "He was quiet, but he liked to have a good time."Baker said she has never seen so many people who wanted to help out for a cause.Donnie Cochran of Grove City went to high school with Brad Holmes."He was a comedian," Cochran said. "He was very outgoing and always did a lot for others."Carrie Grace, 11, of Grove City stood with her mother behind a table of T-shirts and pins commemorating Brad Holmes as they volunteered together. Grace is a member of the Grove City Girl Scouts."I want to help out my community, and a lot of my friends knew Brad," Grace said. "He'll be remembered as a hero."Cheryl Steinmiller of Mercer said she never met Brad Holmes, but her husband worked with him at Wal-Mart. She said the town and outside communities have grown closer than ever with his death."It's just tragic that it had to happen, but this goes to show what a small town can do," Steinmiller said.To donate to the Holmes family, checks payable to the Brad Holmes Fund can be deposited at Northwest Savings Bank, 200 Center St., Grove City, PA 16137.Donations to the Pine Township Engine Company can be made to the Grove City Foundation, care of McNickle and Bonner Attorneys, 209 W. Pine St., Grove City, PA 16137The two families who were displaced by the duplex fire lost nearly everything.Donations can be made for their benefit to either the Patty Dilley Donation Fund or to the Larry Smith Donation Fund at any Citizens Bank branch.
