A fire destroyed four units and displaced seven people in Atascadero on July 21.
“My mother could’ve very well died in that apartment; my nephew could’ve maybe never seen adulthood, because that smoke was already entering the home,” said Denise Singleton, the daughter of one of the displaced tenants.
Singleton’s 70-year-old medically fragile mother, Debbie King, and her 14-year-old nephew, Zane, were inside their upstairs apartment on Robles Avenue when the blaze erupted.
“I was just going about my day and the fire guy pounded on the door, and they get your attention,” King said. “When I opened it, he said, ‘Your apartment’s on fire! You’ve gotta get your essentials and leave right now.’ Well, my purse, set my phone down, didn’t get any clothes, meds, nothing.”
Before the pounding on her front door, there was nothing to alert King to the fire that had started right outside her front door in the storage area that houses her water heater - no smoke alarm, no carbon monoxide detector went off, no screaming.
“My neighbor downstairs was squirting my house down with his hose. He didn’t even yell and say, ‘Debbie!’” King said.
Because of that, Singleton wants her mother’s story to be a cautionary tale.
“She didn’t have any alarms go off,” she said. I asked her, you know, ‘When’s the last time any of these batteries were replaced or checked by property owners or yourself?’ And she said she doesn’t even remember it ever being done!”
Left with only the clothes on their backs, King and her grandson lost everything they owned in the fire, including Zane’s beloved guitar and skateboard. Unfortunately, without renter’s insurance, they won’t be getting any of the items back.
“That is a possibility; that is something that can happen to you, so spend that small amount of money each month to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you or your family,” Singleton said.
What’s more, the complex was deemed uninhabitable.
But, as with many tragedies, the community tends to come together to help pick up the pieces. Thanks to the Red Cross, King is currently staying at a nearby Motel 6, at least until next Thursday. A GoFundMe page has now raised more than $1,200, and local 805 Boardshop generously gifted Zane two new pairs of shoes, clothes, and a skateboard to try to make life just a little brighter for an adopted teen who seemingly lost everything, including hope.
“He was devastated,” King said. “He’s okay right now, because he’s with relatives, but, you know, when school starts, I’m just praying that we’re not still here.”
The aftermath of the fire has been one roadblock after another but a lot of lessons learned from it - lessons Singleton says she hopes everyone can take away from this tragedy.
“If this experience and story helps just one family from this situation, that’s all that matters,” she said.
As for how the future looks for the grandmother and her grandson… “Bright,” King said. “That’s the way I want to see it.”
The family is still searching for an affordable two-bedroom home and is hoping to find one before the start of the new school year.
