He spotted the fire and called 911, but this officer’s help didn’t end there

Chad Spaulding could have simply called 911 and resumed his daily trek to work after noticing a house fire last Friday in south Wichita.

That, however, isn’t who the Wichita police officer is. He thinks that those who can help should help, and he figured he could.

The actions – and personal funds – of Spaulding and his family recently helped a fellow Wichita family with small children that lost nearly everything.

“We were just doing what anybody would have done,” Spaulding said Wednesday. “If you have the means, I believe you should do something.”

On Friday, Spaulding called 911 to get firefighters to the south Wichita mobile home park where a mobile home was on fire, then he went to check it out.

“When I got to the house, neighbors told me that five children lived there, and a car was in the driveway,” Spaulding said. “We were able to determine that the family wasn’t home. It was obvious that the home was a total loss.”

When the fire broke out, the family was at a Christmas program at Central Christian Church.

“I have children of my own, and I know it can be difficult (around the holidays),” Spaulding said. “I know that neither parent was employed at the time, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have any financial stability coming into the holidays.

“They were extremely grateful – a very nice family.”

After learning a little more about the family, Spaulding went to a local Wal-Mart to buy items with his own money – such as toiletries, toys and diapers – to give them. When he learned that the family had an adopted 8-month-old, Spaulding even solicited a cooler of breast milk from one of his family members.

The baby had been drinking only breast milk, and the family’s supply was destroyed in the fire. The family’s other four children – ages 3 to 11 – are also foster children.

Spaulding’s wife even made a trip to an area Target to get more toys. The Wichita Children’s Home also donated items.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Spaulding said. “It’s just what you do.

“Anyone in this department would have done the same thing. Any citizen would have done the same thing.”

Spaulding, an eight-year veteran on the Wichita force, said the mobile home park’s manager has put the family up in a hotel and is working to put them in a different home.

“You just hate to see kids go without Christmas,” Spaulding said.

“They still have furniture that they need and appliances. They have a lot of rebuilding to do, and I intend to help with that as much as I can.”

Wichita, Spaulding said, has always been home to a giving spirit.

“It was a lot of people who stepped up to help, not just me,” Spaulding said. “We have a good history of doing that in this community, and I just hope we can continue to do that for families that are in need.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 8:31 PM with the headline "He spotted the fire and called 911, but this officer’s help didn’t end there."