Pam and Bob Bell: Fire Recovery Fund

My name is Katie Quintas, a 30+ year friend of Bob and Pam Bell. We attended Bethany Church together in Sierra Madre for decades. The Bells lost their home in the Eaton fire in Altadena. They ran from their home without ever receiving an evacuation notice. As they left, their back door was on fire, and they brought nothing with them but the clothes on their backs. Pam drove out in their small Honda Civic, unable to see because she did not have her glasses, and the smoke and fire obscured any chance of her viewing what was in front of her. Pam shares, "God drove that car out of the fire, not me!"

Bob and Pam have lived a life of service. For decades Pam ran the pre-elementary ministry at Bethany Church in Sierra Madre. Bob was a dedicated servant of God and others as a volunteer running technology and facilities at Bethany Church. Bob was also an avid volunteer for the Red Cross. As a volunteer for the Red Cross, he ran disaster shelters and did damage assessments.

Bob currently has several health issues, making it difficult for him to participate in his family’s recovery from this tragedy. Melissa, their daughter, also lives with Bob and Pam and had to evacuate with them as the fire raged through their home. Michele, their other daughter, lives in Altadena and was also evacuated. By God’s grace, her home was saved. However, it is not livable at the moment. They are staying with Pam’s Godchild. Once they can return to Michele’s home, her mother, father, and Melissa will move into this two-bedroom home.

Some may know the Bells for their entertainment of young children through their Puppet/Muppet shows featured throughout the San Gabriel Valley and, of course, at Bethany Church. They received awards for their puppet ministry; Pam is a ventriloquist. Most of those amazing puppets/muppets were lost in the fire. A few survived being stored at Bethany Church. Pam was an avid collector of Tiggers and creches (Pam had 45 Christian creches), all lost in the fire. The history of their life is now a pile of ash. They are seniors; recovery would be impossible without the community's help.

This GoFundMe page is late setting up because they were told that insurance and FEMA would deny any funding raised on GoFundMe from what they would receive from FEMA and insurance! It scared them as it would scare anyone. So, to be clear, your help will allow them to address the many aspects of recovery and support the Bells need through this crisis, including expenses above and beyond what will be provided by FEMA and insurance. They do NOT have replacement insurance and have a high deductible that must be met.

Please note that when you donate, GoFundMe tries to collect an additional 14% “TIP” with your donation. You can stop that by moving the dot on the bar below your donation to ZERO. If you inadvertently forget to do that, you can get the TIP back by contacting GoFundMe and requesting a refund of the TIP.

Thank you for contributing to the Bell family. They so appreciate the love, support, and, most importantly, your prayers that they can recover from this tragedy. Any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated.