Community helps Florida dad, daughter celebrate Christmas in a new home after tragic fire

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - At Christmas, lots of people just think about presents, but Eliana and Uriah Frisby learned a different lesson this holiday season.

"This year I would say the different meaning is staying close to family," Uriah Frisby said.

When FOX 35 last saw Uriah, he was trying to get back on his feet after a fire at a neighboring unit in his Altamonte Springs apartment complex displaced two dozen families.

"Losing everything during the fire, I realize all of this stuff is – it’s replaceable," he said on Christmas Day. "But someone like my daughter, Eliana, is not replaceable."

He said it took a while to get back on his feet – and as a single dad trying to make ends meet, he’s still a little off-balance.

But they’ve come a long way – thanks in large part to help from the community.

Catholic Charities of Central Florida helped Frisby get into a new apartment right down the road from his last one. They helped him with rent and furniture.

"This particular family needed assistance with almost everything because literally what they escaped with was the clothes on their back and their lives," Deacon Gary Tester, the President of Catholic Charities of Central Florida, told FOX 35.

Eliana’s elementary school, Lake Orienta, helped the family out with clothes.

FOX 35 News viewers donated too, helping with all sorts of necessities. 

It’s tough to start from nothing.

And Frisby says this Christmas, he and Eliana are finally starting to feel settled – like their lives are their own again.

"I like the neighborhood because my friend lives just across from me," Eliana said. "I like the community. I almost like everything about the house."

"I've been on other news stations, and they never help me as much as you have helped me. So I'm really grateful and appreciative," Uriah told FOX 35.