With More Than 2,000 Fans, 12-Year-Old's Facebook Page Provides Important Connection for Fire Relief Effort

Like millions of worldwide television viewers, Angelo Tomassi sat on his living room couch on the night of Sept. 9 watching in horror as the Crestmoor gas explosion and fire destroyed lives and homes here.

Angelo, a 12-year-old Fremont boy, said he and his mother, Andrea, felt helpless as they watched the ghastly images of destruction flash across their TV screen.

"I was thinking how devastating what these people were going through is, and what could I do to help," Angelo said.

Angelo, a Fremont Christian School student who wants to someday become a Marine, didn't just sit around talking about what he could do to help.

On the night of the blaze, Angelo took immediate action. With some help from his mother, he set up a Facebook page for the fire victims that night. He said he hoped the "Help San Bruno Fire Victims" Facebook page would provide a resource for those in dire need of the immediate necessities like food and clothing.

It's become much bigger than that.

Angelo's brainchild has in short order become an indispensable resource.

On a recent day, a Tracy woman posted that she had clothes to donate but no way of getting them to the fire victims.

"We found a commuter within two minutes," Andrea Tomassi said. "We found a San Bruno resident who visits Tracy weekly. It's been amazing."

In addition to linking those who want to donate basic necessities with those in need, his Facebook page has become a virtual town square that public agencies count on as a go-to source for important announcements. And some event organizers have turned to it as a vehicle to organize fundraisers.

The Facebook page has already set up two benefits: a concert at 23 Club in Brisbane this past Saturday and a Halloween party at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Oct. 31.

Bigger concert events for next year are in the planning stages, Tomassi said.

So far, more than 2,200 have "liked" Angelo's Facebook page.

"I never expected it to get this big," he said.

And nobody expected to grow this fast.

Hard work managing site, but motivated by sense of duty

Danielle Brewer, who manages the city's recreation services, said she was aware of the Facebook page on Sept. 11. She said the page helped her department get the word to out businesses to make donations that fed some 200 people during the first week after the fire.

"At one point stores and restaurants stopped (donating) when nobody realized what we needed," Brewer said. "There were people living in hotels and they were coming here and they didn't know where to go for food.

"They posted what we couldn't post and they were able to reach people that we can't reach."

Angelo and his mom said that social networking isn't all fun and games, especially with people asking questions at all hours of the day and night, which made them feel obligated to respond to all of the posts within a reasonable timeframe.

"I take the day shift and he works the night shift," Andrea Tomassi said.

"The hardest part is figuring out the right thing to say and not misleading people," Angelo said.

The Tomassis don't have actual relatives in the city, but they do have ties to the area, regularly visiting the Golden Gate National Cemetery. On holidays, they often leave flowers on the tomb of an unknown soldier they've named "Ace."

About a week after the blaze, Angelo and his mom came to the city to drop off cupcakes at the rec center and saw some of the area affected by the blaze. As he passed through the streets he'd seen on previous visits to the cemetery, he saw how they were now filled with homes that were burnt to the ground.

The visit compelled Angelo to continue trying to help the fire victims.

"I hope this will accomplish bringing people back some of the money and the assets that they lost," he said. "I hope they can recover from this."

For his part, Angelo said he's been impressed with the response his Facebook page has received. He says the experience has taught him "that people are really generous, they really cared, they don't want to sit and do nothing either."

Perhaps even more impressive is his passion for helping others.

"I think it's amazing that a 12-year-old has the wherewithal to do something that selfless," Brewer said.