Redondo Rallies Around Woman Who Lost Everything In Fire

REDONDO BEACH, CA – Brooke Owens spent Thanksgiving feeding the homeless at her flower shop on Pacific Coast Highway without expecting anything in return. So when she lost her Redondo Beach home in a fire the next day, she was stunned to see the very same people she had fed coming forward to support her in her time of need.

Owens, owner of Brooke's Flowers, returned to work on Monday to find customers, friends, and strangers offering her meals, clothing, toiletries, and monetary donations, according to Daily Breeze. Even some of the homeless people that attended the dinner returned to the store and asked how they could help her, Daily Breeze reported. Owens said she and Megan, her teen daughter, are extremely grateful for the support they've received from the Redondo Beach community following the fire.

“People have been incredibly kind,” Owens told The Daily Breeze. “I’m used to being that person who takes care of everybody, so I’m learning to accept it.”

The fire was reported around 4:50 p.m. on Friday in the 300 block of Garnet Street in South Redondo Beach, according to the Beach Reporter. Almost the entirety of the interior of Owens' beach bungalow had been destroyed, while the exterior structure was still standing. A next door neighbor's home was also damaged as the attic burned and set off the sprinkler system. No residents were hurt in the blaze, but a firefighter suffered a minor injury, said Redondo Beach Fire Department Division Chief Rob Rappaport.

Owens told The Beach Reporter that she was home babysitting her grandson when the flames started, but didn't realize her house was on fire until a passerby alerted her.

"We had just come out of the car, put on his little spider man shoes, gave him some ice cream and put on 'Jungle Book.' The door was open," she told The Beach Reporter. "He said, 'do you know there is a lot of smoke in the back of your house?'"

Owens grabbed the baby and fled from the home – less than a minute later, flames were pouring out both side windows.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend to pay for necessities, and another page was started for Megan by one of her friends to help recover clothing items.

Owens and her daughter spent the first two nights after the fire in a hotel thanks to the Redondo Beach Firefighters Community Relief Fund, and they're now couch surfing.

Photo via GoFundMe