Retired Temple Firefighter Receives Touching Gift From Neighbors​

When retired firefighter LeRoy Vargas was battling cancer, he received a fire wagon as a gift and put it in his yard for decoration. That wagon was recently stolen, and now his neighbors and Temple Fire & Rescue have made it right.

Vargas said there has been a lot of vandalism lately in his neighborhood and when he noticed his wagon had been stolen he was upset but sadly not surprised. The Temple Fire Department along with members of an online group called "Nextdoor Community" got together to try to replace LeRoy's missing wagon. This past Thursday, Vargas heard a knock on his door and opened it to find his friends and neighbors presenting him with a brand new wagon like the one that went missing.

Vargas told KCENTV.com, "Next-Door is about neighbors helping neighbors and being kind, and watching out for one another. So, it didn’t surprise me at all that they reached out to me. They reached out to me on social media in private messages and offered me words of encouragement and that was just a blessing."

LeRoy retired from Temple Fire after 35 years of service and has been cancer-free for five years now. We wish him continued good health and know the whole community is thankful for his service.