Soddy Daisy ministry has faith after devastating fire

SODDY-DAISY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Neighborhood Helpers Volunteer Ministry (NHVM) lost almost everything in a fire Monday night.

The Soddy-Daisy Fire Department received a call about a house fire at the intersection of Dayton Pike and Card Road around 9:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they realized it was a large fire at the NHVM storage location. There, the ministry stores power tools, wood and other materials to make handcrafted wheelchair ramps for those in need.

Thanks to donations and local sponsors like the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, NHVM is able to provide ramps free of charge to low-income families.

At the completion of the project, the ministry also gifts the ramp’s recipients with a personalized Bible and a mission.

“Explain to all the folks that ask about it, that the love of Jesus built that ramp, and he sent our group, a group of old men out there to help show Jesus’ love to them,” NHVM co-coordinator Richard Smith said.

Last week, the ministry completed its 272nd ramp after almost ten years of service. Smith says more and more requests for ramps come in every week. Currently, the ministry has three requests waiting to be filled.

But work will have to come to a halt for the time being, as Monday night’s fire charred the majority of the supplies.

“I didn’t sleep much last night because of all the questions about the future that we’re going through my head, where we need to go from here,” Smith said.

The blaze took firefighters about an hour to put out.

The ministry has worked across from the fire department for almost 10 years, and Chief Guffey says the firefighters need their ramps, too.

“It helps us for them to build those ramps because we go to the people’s houses that need the ramps,” Chief Guffey said. “It’s easier for us to get the stretchers in and out of the house instead of trying to go up steps.”

The men in charge of the ministry are still waiting to hear if the insurance will cover their losses. But with or without insurance aid, they say the cost will be significant to replace the shed and everything underneath.

Regardless, the men of Neighborhood Helpers are confident they will be taken care of.

“I just believe that the Lord will provide what we need to get back on track and be able to provide ramps for people that need them,” Smith said.

Smith started a GoFundMe page for those who would like to help. We will update this story with the link as soon as the page is up and running.