Kristopher Hubbard is grateful for the pendant he wears around his neck with his late mother’s photo.
“This is like the last little piece of anything that I have of her,” he said.
Hubbard and his longtime girlfriend, Destiny Redmond, were on a cruise when a fire destroyed their Cobb County apartment late last week. Redmond had been hired to photograph a friend’s wedding on the ship, and got a heartbreaking phone call after their trip began.
Their Austell apartment building was on fire, and the damage looked bad, a friend said by phone. But Redmond still had a job to do.
“There was no turning back,” she said. “There was no turning around. This was her life moment, too.”
The pictures the couple saw of the damage prepared them for the destruction they returned home to this week at the gated complex off Riverside Parkway, where they lived with their two daughters.
“You can still smell it,” Hubbard said as fire investigators continued their work to determine the cause of the blaze.
Like many in their building, the couple did not have renter’s insurance. They surveyed the damage wearing the clothes they traveled in.
“We have nothing,” Hubbard said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
The family is hopeful they may discover things that can be salvaged once they’re allowed in the area where the ground-level apartment once was. Until then, Hubbard and Redmond say they are grateful no one was injured in the fire, which displaced nearly 60 people. One neighbor’s dog perished in the blaze. Redmond’s brother slept through someone banging on the door of the family’s apartment but still made it out safely. The couple’s girls, ages 1 and 8, were with a relative when the fire broke out.
“But everybody made it out,” Redmond said. “I’m blessed that my neighbors are safe. My kids are safe.”
For now, the family is staying with a family member and hopes to stay in the area so their oldest daughter, Makayla, can finish the school year. Her backpack and school supplies were among the things that would have to be replaced.
Redmond’s friend, Ayuna Edwards, created a GoFundMe page for the family before the couple had even returned to Georgia. Redmond says she’s grateful for those willing to help her family, along with the Red Cross, which provided toiletry items and supplies.
Tuesday morning, Redmond’s eyes were still puffy from crying.
“Right now, we’re all in one bed,” Redmond said. “But I’m grateful to even lay with my children.”
“Definitely,” Hubbard responded.
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