LAGUNA NIGUEL : Santa Pays Second Visit to Fire Victims

Until Wednesday, all that remained of Christmas for a mother and her two sons were the melted toys destroyed along with almost everything they owned in a Christmas tree fire on Dec. 28.

But Orange County firefighters on Wednesday arrived with two bicycles and armloads of gifts.

For Beverly Pearson, who was given a one-day notice of the delivery, it helped ease the stress of having to start all over again only two months after she moved her two sons to South Orange County from San Diego.

“I really appreciate this,” said Pearson, a full-time registered nurse who also works part time in home health care. “I lost my letterhead, a typewriter, a copier and office supplies. I didn’t know what I was going to do about the toys.”

The gifts were supplied through the Orange County Fire Department’s “Operation Santa Claus” program, which collects new toys for needy children. The toys distributed Wednesday were among some that were not delivered for the holidays, said Capt. David Buck of Laguna Niguel Station No. 5, which handled the fire call at Pearson’s home.

“We’re coming back this time to spread Christmas cheer,” Buck said.

The blaze began when a dried Christmas tree ignited as Pearson dragged it past a fire she had just started in the fireplace. Although the family escaped unharmed, the fire caused an estimated $120,000 of damage in a matter of minutes.

Pearson’s sons, Shane, 12, and Tyler, 8, wasted no time in deciding that Wednesday’s presents were at least as good as their first.

“Oh mom, look, a basketball!” Shane said, pulling a box out of three large plastic bags carted by the firefighters into the crowding living room of the new family apartment. “This is just like the one that got wasted. No way, I can’t believe it! This is too good.”

“Excellent!” squealed Tyler beaming at a new motocross-style bicycle wheeled into the dining area. “This is a better Christmas.”

“I think we are very lucky,” Pearson said, noting that neighbors donated sofas, lamps and a refrigerator to furnish her new apartment in the same Laguna Niguel complex. The Red Cross also provided assistance.

“And we will have an artificial tree next year,” she added. “We’ve already bought it on a half-price sale.”