Community rallies behind single father, daughter who lose everything in house fire

By Taylor Thompson

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A house fire in west Asheville Friday, Jan. 6 left a single father and his 6-year-old daughter with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Robert Owen said the day began as a normal Friday for him, running errands and picking his daughter up from the bus stop.

When they pulled into their driveway, though, everything changed. They saw their home completely engulfed in flames.

Owen said he has three cats, two of which he had to bury that same day, as they died in the fire.

“It was an electrical fire,” Owen shared with News 13 on Sunday, Jan. 8. “It was an old trailer. There’s a short in the wire and no one there to stop it, so it kind of just engulfed.”

Community rallies behind single father, daughter who lose everything in house fire

He said he has dissociated from a lot right now as he’s been spending the last 48 hours trying to process the loss of his home — and all his belongings.

Owen and his daughter have been able to stay with family in the area for the time being.

Figuring things out one day at a time is how Owen said he is handling the tragedy. He said taking it one day at a time has been made easier because of the support system around him.

He has worked at The Odd in West Asheville for more than a year now and said that everyone there has rallied behind him during this trying time.

“They’ve all offered to help build me a house,” said Owen.

One of his friends, Nick Grosso, also created a GoFundMe page called “Rebuilding Rob.”

Grosso described Owen as the type of person to give anyone the shirt off of his back — and now he sees this as an opportunity to show Owen the kind of support and generosity he so freely shows to others.

A father himself, Grosso said he couldn’t imagine losing everything and having his daughter lose everything.

“Having to start from scratch with no clothes — all the toys, all the stuff that she relies on — and it’s all gone,” Grosso said.

If roles were reversed, Grosso said he knows Owen would do the same which is why it’s so important to him to get the word out and reach out to the community.

Being in a position of having to start from zero, Grosso said anything anyone could donate would be of help.

“His daughter has three pairs of clothes to her name. She’s so sweet. I just feel for this family and hope that the community reaches out to help,” Grosso said.

Owen said he plans to remain positive as things can only go up from here.

He added that seeing everyone around him provide so much love and support has given him all the hope he needs.

Visit the link below to donate to the GoFundMe for Owens and his daughter.

gofundme.com/f/rebuilding-rob-avl

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