INDIANAPOLIS — A massive fire caused more than four dozen veterans to lose everything they own.
The fire happened in downtown Indianapolis last Saturday.
"We just lost all of our life savings and everything we worked for but we are just grateful for our lives," said Daniel Mallory.
WATCH | 48 homeless veterans displaced after fire at HVAF housing complex
Despite losing everything in the fire, Daniel Mallory still has a smile on his face.
"I gotta look at it like I never had it because I don't want to grieve over something like that when so many people are alive. It's the greatest story to be told. No matter what happened," Mallory said.
It's Indy's largest homeless veterans shelter and all 48 people living in the Manchester transitional housing building made it out safely.
"We heard banging, 'bam, bam, bam, bam' on the door! The firemen, they were coming with the hoses. They said 'get out the building is on fire!' The smoke, we knew this wasn't a test. We had only moments to grab what we could, our dog and run," said Mallory.
Helping Homeless Veterans and Families of Indiana placed the vets in 3 Indy hotels for a month.
"The first responders, the Red Cross, HVAF, VA hospital, Volunteers of America and so many other organizations and people — the outpouring of neighborhoods — they just came from so many places," said Mallory.
CEO Emmy Hildebrand said they are working on permanent housing.
Inside HVAF, a temporary pantry is set up where they can pick up necessities.
A wish-list was created for each vet and more than 3,000 pounds of donations from Amazon have been delivered.
"The fire assistance fund helps cover things insurance doesn't cover: food, clothing, hygiene, security deposits, utility assistance, move-in costs and when we get to the rebuild phase we will need help from the community," said Hildebrand.
"We are just grateful though, for once I was really shown that veterans are appreciated," said Mallory.
Wish4OurHeroes and IMS are hosting a drive for non-perishable items and donations on Saturday at the Brickyard Crossing parking lot.
Volunteers will collect non-perishable food, hygiene items, socks, and other clothing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
