We’re thankful for the support HCRN has received over the last 20+ years. From donors, volunteers, churches and foundations, with these partnerships we’ve been able to serve so many individuals and families impacted by disaster. This year, we’re especially thankful that with these partnerships, rebuilding began in Butte County from the devastating Camp Fire of 2018. Today, we’d like to highlight one of our homeowners: Ron Carmody.
Ron is about the sweetest, softest-spoken person you’re likely to meet, and since Thanksgiving 2019 he’s been living in an RV where his home burned during the Camp Fire. In early November, teams of volunteers came from all over the country and framed his home, sided it and installed windows, doors and painted the exterior. So many loving hands have already touched his rebuilt home, and so many more will pass through those doors as work continues.
It was the first of these teams that Ron got to spend quite a bit of time with as they framed and roofed his home. After work one day, he set up his camp chair in the newly raised walls of his home and sat there for the first time. The team arrived the next morning, and were so touched by him taking that time to appreciate the work that had been done. One volunteer told him, “Meeting you and hearing your story makes me want to come and volunteer here even more than before.”
Ron has overcome many challenges in his life, including a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to read. However, one teacher in his middle school realized he was still good with math and had a special skill for working with his hands and fixing things. It was this recognition that allowed him to gain experience through school working on cars and becoming a racecar driver for years before becoming a safety director and head of the pit.
He’s come back from a total loss three times in his life. Once from a car accident, another from an infection that led to his hospitalization for over a year, and finally the Camp Fire. Ron told us, “I don’t know why I’m still here…but I am.”
When Ron escaped the Camp Fire, he left his property driving an RV. His ex-wife had made it out before him and found a place for them to meet and park the RV at a casino. It would take him nearly 8 hours to make it to the casino.
From Ron:
It was terrible. Along Clark Road the fire was burning on both sides right down to the pavement. I was running the windshield wipers to keep the embers off the windshield. I knew the RV had three plastic vents on top and I knew that if an ember fell on one of them and started a fire, that I’d lose the RV.
We’re so thankful that Ron survived, and that we get to be a part of his recovery.
If you’d like to be a part of Rebuilding Homes and Restoring Lives you can give here, or you can volunteer by emailing [email protected]
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