HUNTSVILLE (KFSM) -- Donations have poured in after a fire ripped through a building in the Ridgeway Apartment complex on June 11.
Donations have filled the gymnasium at the First Assembly of God Church in Huntsville. Items like clothing, furniture and even mattresses have taken up so much space, that the church is no longer taking donations.
"Material donations, we've stopped collecting that for right now because there's just so much," said Barbara Whitlow, an office secretary for the church. "What is needed right now is monetary donations for these families, because they're going to need some rental deposits and also utility deposits."
Residents will get a chance to go through the donations on Saturday (June 25).
About twelve families were displaced following the blaze, including Timothy Gayo and Kristina Holmes, and with their three children.
On Monday (June 20), the couple moved into a new apartment which is a few doors down from their charred building.
"[I] felt like before I had a pile of bricks on my chest," said Holmes, when referencing the fire. "Now it's just a big relief."
Gayo said he's grateful to remain in the same neighborhood.
"[I] feel like doing cartwheels," said Gayo "It feels good. We've been staying with her dad and uncle in a motel. I'm just ready to get our own place back."
5NEWS was with the couple and their children as they toured their new home for the first time.
Holmes called it a fresh start.
"I just keep telling myself it's just a new start. It's God's way of giving us a new start," she said.
Some of the families displaced are still staying in an area motel, waiting for nearby living space to open up.
A cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the apartment manager.