- November 15, 2024
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“It was a situation where life went from 0 to 100 really quick,” he said. “Life could be so grand, but, in a moment’s notice, everything can be stripped away from you.”
Charlie Washington
The day after Palm Coast resident Charlie Washington received the Martin Luther King Community Service Award at the Bunnell MLK Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 16, his house caught on fire, forcing his family and him to flee the premises.
Washington and his family were watching television around 9 p.m., when his oldest son, Kaevon, 9, broke the news of strange knocking in his walls.
“It was that time of the night when kids don’t want to go to bed, so I told him there was nothing wrong and to go back to bed,” Washington said. “About five minutes later, he came back and asked if we had more of it, this time louder.”
After a third Kaevon warning, Washington’s cousin yells, “It’s pretty outside,” as a fire, unknown to them, began to brew with the kitchen window.
“I thought the porch light was on,” Washington said. “So, after I go outside and don’t see anything, I look up, and my chimney’s on fire.”
Washington, then, ran back inside and told everyone to go into the yard, while he attempted to put out the fire until the fire department completed the job.
The fire had burned the chimney, the roof and some of the wall area and installation areas, rendering the Washingtons’ home unlivable. Their friends, a couple who stayed close to them, lodged them for the night, and, the next day they contacted the American Red Cross, who set them up at the Days Inn for four nights.
“My wife and I had to keep it together for our kids,” Washington said. “Kaevon took it the hardest out of us all, and, in our private time, we dropped a tear or two to release some of the built-up stress. But he’s our superhero, who made us aware that there was something going on.”
Washington praised First Baptist Christian Academy for its support during the process of finding a new home. The school’s administration counseled the children daily, enabling Washington and his wife, Michal, take care of business.
While at the hotel, Washington connected with realtor Karleen Keiser-Segledi, of the Realty Exchange, whom he had known, to help him find a house. She was able to find a bigger house that was more affordable than the house offered by his landlord, which was smaller and more costly.
“I’d really like to thank everyone who helped us during this process,” Washington said. “The city of Bunnell definitely loves me, and I love them back.”
