Martinez Family

“Life is so unpredictable, and as police officers, we see this every day,” says Lieutenant Jimmy Martinez. He experienced just how abrupt life can be when he received a call from the Castle Rock Fire Department on October 12, 2012 while he was at work: his house had literally exploded.

The house had been leveled in a matter of seconds, with Lt. Martinez’s wife and four children inside. When Lt. Martinez arrived on the scene, he was unspeakably grateful to find that all of his family members had survived with minimal injuries. Accompanying them to the hospital, their new reality set in: they were homeless. “The only clothes we had were what we were wearing,” says Lt. Martinez. “Where do we go from here?”

Within hours of arriving at the hospital, a representative from the Denver Police Officers Foundation arrived to make sure each of the family members was safe. They provided the funds the Martinez family needed to begin to rebuild their lives and provide shelter and clothing and food for the time being.

The Denver Police Officer’s Foundation is committed to providing financial assistance for police officers and their families in times of desperate need. Lt. Martinez and his family are only one instance of this kind of help given by the DPOF–visit our Mission page to learn more.