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Neighbors brighten up dark holiday

A fire destroyed much of a Clearwater woman's apartment, including her gifts to her three children. Two groups help restore her faith in humanity.

By ROBERT FARLEY
Published December 25, 2004

CLEARWATER - A day before the fire, Staci Lucas, 35, witnessed an argument between drivers at an intersection and wondered when the world had grown so mean.

Then a fire decimated the apartment attached to hers. Smoke crept into her unit and left a blackened mess. It destroyed nearly everything she owned - all her furniture, clothes, sheets, "things you take for granted." Not even the Christmas gifts the single mother had bought for her three children were spared. She had no renter's insurance. She was devastated.

And then Lucas learned the world wasn't so mean after all.

When members of American Legion Post 7 in Clearwater - which sits next to Lucas' apartment on Florida Avenue - heard of her plight, they put together a fundraiser.

"We wanted to do something for our neighbor," said post commander Norm Coggins.

On Friday, tears streamed down Lucas' face as Coggins handed her a check for $1,825.

There was more. The Suncoast Brotherhood, a local biker's rights group in Dunedin, donated bicycles and toys to the three children.

Lucas' younger son, Jason, 7, hopped on the smallest bike, smiling broadly and pretending to rev the handle bars like a motorcycle.

"If everybody does a little," said Dennis Drake, 42, of the Suncoast Brotherhood, "it ends up being a whole lot."

Lucas was overwhelmed.

"In light of the horrific hurricane season, I really thought people were tapped out and there really wasn't a lot of Christmas spirit left this year," she said. "It really restores my faith in humanity."

The fire started the evening of Dec. 11, the beginning of a cold snap. Lucas' neighbor put a space heater too close to some bedding, and a fire broke out, said Joel Gray, division chief for Clearwater Fire & Rescue.

No one was injured, but it left one apartment gutted and Lucas' badly damaged.

Lucas and her children, ages 7, 12 and 15, had been living in the apartment for two months. The active hurricane season cost Lucas her job on Clearwater Beach, and she was trying to start a massage therapy business. The hurricane season also made it impossible for her to find renter's insurance, she said.

"Let this be a lesson to everyone who thinks they don't need renter's insurance," Lucas said.

A friend has put the family up temporarily. They will muddle through, Lucas said.

"We're just going to get through Christmas and make it as happy as we can and then worry about the rest of it after that," she said.

For now, she said, it is a time to be thankful for the generosity of neighbors.

"Thank you all so very much for everything you've done," she told those at the post. "There aren't enough words to express the kindness you've shown us. It's overwhelming."

[Last modified December 24, 2004, 23:25:15]