Homeless Advocate Left Without A Home

BROOKSVILLE - Kit Raymond did not want to go into detail about how her house caught fire.

"It was an accident," she said not once, but twice.

She was having dinner Sunday with friends at the American Legion hall in downtown Brooksville. The day before, shortly after 5 p.m., she and her son were left homeless after a gasoline fire ravaged their house, located a mile north of the city line in DaMac Estates.

Raymond's hands were caked in soot Sunday. She and her friends had been removing the salvageable items from the house earlier that afternoon.

A band-aid was wrapped over the knuckle of her right thumb, but it wasn't enough to cover the marble-sized blister underneath it.

Finally, she described how the fire started.

"I was trying to kill ants," she said.

The insects were crawling along her driveway and were coming within six inches of her carport. One makeshift method to destroying an anthill is to douse it with gas and light it on fire.

After she struck a match, she backed away and laid the gas can nearby. When the blaze moved closer to the can, she picked it up and moved it back.

That was when the fumes from the can escaped from the top. The air combusted and the flames eventually climbed to the ceiling of her car port.

Raymond's son escaped the house unharmed. She declined medical attention for the second-degree burn on her thumb.

She was with friends the day after the fire. They made several references to the irony of her situation while conscientiously not making light of it.

Raymond is an active volunteer with Love Your Neighbor - a Christian-based group out of Brooksville that serves homeless people and others in need.

Every Sunday, they are invited to have dinner with the group's volunteers at the American Legion.

Raymond works full-time with Love Your Neighbor, but does not get paid. She helps with the weekly dinners, recruits volunteers, asks for donations and picks up items for the monthly flea market.

As she ate her dinner Sunday, she was getting hugs, handshakes and condolences from several people.

There were others, including director John Callea, who rolled up their sleeves and helped her move items from her house and load them onto the back of pickup trucks. They accumulated a trailer full of possessions, but many of them may still have to be discarded.

"Some I think she kept because of the sentimental value, but we'll see," Callea said.

The American Red Cross has paid for a hotel room for Raymond and her son for the next few days. Callea loaned her his car.

"They've helped me salvage what's available," she said of her friends with Love Your Neighbor. "I've been offered places to stay. This (group) reaches out to those in need. When it's one of their own, they reach out to help them."

Raymond, who speaks openly about her faith, was saddened by the circumstances, but not emotional. She admitted she was surprised by her calm mood, but realized she still has all that is important to her.

"I'm so peaceful right now," she told a friend who was seated across from her. "I've lost everything I own and everything my son owns, (but) life doesn't consist of what I own."

Her son is a senior at Hernando High School.

What few possessions they could salvage might have been more had the fire not resurrected later that same night.

Callea felt an urge to drive to the house, located at 21378 Anderson Road, and check the area. He arrived shortly after 11 p.m. and noticed a light shining from the inside. At first he thought it was a flashlight, but it kept getting bigger.

"The fire started again," he said. "I called the fire department and by the time they got there, the whole house was engulfed ... I'm shocked we were able to salvage anything today."

Among the items removed from the home Sunday were arts and crafts supplies, tools, kitchen utensils and some furniture. All that was removed from the house Sunday is all Raymond will take from the fire. She did not have homeowners insurance.

She admitted she is unsure what will happen the next few days. She will take some time to think about her next move, but she feels at ease knowing her friends are sticking by her. She also believes karma will work in her favor.

"I dunno. I've got to pray about it," she said. "I know as I've taken care of those in need, God will take care of me. I'm not worried about the future."

Those who would like to make a donation to the Raymond family are asked to call 352-428-9434 or 352-428-9275.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

Firefighters responded to two more fires last weekend

LAKE LINDSEY A family lost their home Sunday morning following an accidental fire.

They lost all of their possessions, including a puppy and 10 birds.

Chief Richard Tincher, a spokesman with Hernando County Fire Rescue, said the homeowners, whose names were not released, had no insurance.

A representative with the American Red Cross said some of the birds were macaws, an exotic breed that can cost thousands of dollars each.

The fire is still under investigation. Early indications are that it was accidental, Tincher said.

On Saturday morning, firefighters responded to a blaze that destroyed a pavilion and public restroom along the Suncoast Trail near Spring Hill.

Tincher said the fire was "totally intentional, not accidental in any way."

The blaze also spread to the woods and may have started in a nearby trash bin, he said.

A witness reportedly chased away a homeless man from the area several hours before the fire was set.