Almost five months after a devastating fire ripped through 91原创 City鈥檚 Paddington Station apartments, the building鈥檚 strata is proud 鈥� and a bit overwhelmed 鈥� to announce that $250,000 has been donated to them by the community.

Thanks to individuals, businesses, churches and non-profit organizations, the more than 100 people who were displaced by the disaster have had a little more cushioned fall, particularly those who had no insurance, said Donna Francis, strata council president.

鈥淎s recent as last week, they were getting cheques in the mail,鈥� she said.

鈥淧eople are getting whatever they need and they are just so incredibly thankful.鈥�

Before the at 5650 201A St. had even been put out, the generosity began.

Residents of an apartment building across the street were the first to open their doors to the stranded residents standing outside in the cold. Not long after, Save On Foods was on scene with water and oranges, NY Grill came outside with wraps and sandwiches, and those who fled their homes without jackets were cloaked in blankets purchased by a total stranger.

Then came the 91原创 Emergency team, led by Ginger Sherlock, who organized the residents at the Douglas Recreation Centre for the night.

鈥淚t felt like they were rolling out a red carpet for a really black, dark experience,鈥� Francis said.

鈥淚 looked back and I said, what鈥檚 going on? I didn鈥檛 get it. It didn鈥檛 stop.鈥�

Several community groups stepped up, including South Gate Church, which quickly organized a holiday dinner and gift card package.

And with just one week to plan, 91原创 musician Karen Lee Batten pulled together a major concert 鈥� 鈥� that raised $56,500, and then spent her Christmas doing all of the administration to ensure the donations got to the residents.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the power of giving and receiving because I honest to God couldn鈥檛 believe how she was able to put that together,鈥� Francis said.

鈥淎nd then the generosity didn鈥檛 stop. Strangers were basically contacting us and saying, 鈥業 want to give.鈥欌��

A local artist, Jodi Hartley, created a sign as a silent auction item for the concert that Francis believes 鈥渟peaks brilliantly鈥� to the situation.

The sign reads: 鈥淭he pain of yesterday is the strength of today. Tragedy in the Paddington Station fire and triumph in the community response. 91原创 and the surrounding cities coming together to help those in need. Healing and moving forward with hope.鈥�

That artwork will be hung back in 5650, once the rebuilding is complete in 18 months.

鈥淚 think the power in this is, 鈥榯riumph in the community response,鈥欌�� Francis said.

鈥淪trangely, because of the fire, so many people are grateful to each other and so many people are reaching out to each other, that the dynamic really changed here,鈥� added Donna Moore, a strata council member. 鈥淎nd it really changed our neighbours, how we felt about our neighbours and probably how our neighbours felt about us.

鈥淚 can tell you that this was a quiet building in the way of familiarity. You鈥檇 walk through here and people would just sort of walk by and they鈥檇 do their thing. Instead, people would see their neighbour and they would go over and hug them.

鈥淚t brought the best out of everybody. I think people who didn鈥檛 even know they would react that like, reacted like that.鈥�

A Paddington Fire Exchange was created, where donors could connect directly with residents, and a bank account was set up with Westminster Savings.

Donations began to pour in, and much to the strata council鈥檚 surprise, it got even bigger.

The development community came together and raised thousands of dollars for those who had no insurance.

Of the 86 units that were affected, 70 per cent of them were rental. And of those renters, 80 per cent were not insured. One owner who purchased his unit nine days before the fire, had yet to get insurance for it.

With all of money coming in, the strata council soon had a new problem: administration. That鈥檚 where Church in the Valley stepped in. Pastor David Jamieson volunteered to help them track and disperse the donations correctly.

鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for them, I think it would have just been a really challenging moment for us. But that was the solution, and it was an incredible solution, because what they did is they heard the donors and the donors said, 鈥榃e want the majority of these funds to go towards the uninsured,鈥欌�� Francis said.

鈥淚 was amazed. Tears were coming out of your eyes all the time,鈥� added Moore. 鈥淲e would text each other, 鈥榊ou won鈥檛 believe what just happened.鈥欌��

Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, the strata began giving thank yous out via the Paddington Fire Exchange Facebook page to all who helped. Their goal is to reach 5,650 likes on the page to symbolize the loss of their building, 5650.

The children in the building have also created a special card to say thank you to the 91原创 City fire department.

鈥淧adda is the root word of Paddington, and it means the estate of,鈥� said Francis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost as if this became the estate of the community, because I found that the community (members) were the ones who were stepping in and taking care of this place, Paddington.鈥�

The Paddington strata would especially like to thank the following donors: Caliber Projects; Capstone Group; Benchmark; Infinity Properties; Lanstone Homes; Pollyco; Qualico; Quadra Homes; Reddale; Apex Drywall Ltd., Benchmark Properties Ltd., Best Security & Ashcroft Window Coverings, Bova Projects Ltd., Braun Geotechnical Ltd., Cache Marketing, Commonplex Construction, CWL Contracting, D.L. Anderson Ltd., Design Lighting, Energy Electric, Envirowest Consultants Inc., Frontline Real Estate Services Ltd., Gager Electrical, Gannon Ross Designs, Group Two Design Consultants Inc. (Focus Architecture), Guildford Golf & Country Ltd., Herbertco Projects Ltd., Homelife Benchmark Realty, IQ Engineering, Jill Bauer Designs, Lindsay Kenney LLP, MEC Engineering Consulting Ltd., McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., MCR Projects, Momentum Real Estate Marketing Group, PMG, Points West, Primary Engineering and Construction, Royale Properties (Yorkson III) JV, Todmans Decorating Services, Trail Appliances, Tynan Design Ltd., West Central Building Supplies and WSP.