ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — In St. Augustine, people do not think of Charlie Brown as the name of a comic book character. Rather, Charlie Brown is a beloved musician who has played his keyboard and entertained thousands of people in downtown St. Augustine for decades.
Last week, however, St. Augustine almost lost him.
"I heard pow, pow pop pop," Charlie Brown said, recalling a sound he heard coming from his kitchen.
Investigators believe an electrical fire started near the refrigerator in his Lincolnville neighborhood home that he has shared with his wife, Olivia, since 1973.
"It was coming from the floor all the way to the ceiling," Brown remembered.
It was 1:30 a.m. Fortunately, both Charlie and Olivia got out of the home okay. However, Charlie went back in to get his cell phone and somehow he got locked inside.
"I was screaming, 'Come out Charlie! Come out!'" Olivia remembered. "I think you stumbled one time and fell."
The smoke was so thick.
Olivia remembered looking around at her dark neighborhood.
"I was so upset because I couldn’t see anyone," Olivia said. "I was just looking and wondering, "What do I do?'"
Then her next door neighbor appeared right next to Olivia.
"She said, 'We’ll get him,'" Olivia remembered.
There was so much smoke, Charlie could not tell if the difference between the front door or a window.
His neighbor turned on the flashlight on her phone and stood at the door. Then, she told Charlie to look for the light. He literally saw the light and escaped the fire.
"If it wasn’t for this lady, I don't know what would have happened," Olivia said. "She happened to be our darling angel."
Firefighters put out the fire, but the house is a total loss. The Browns say it will be demolished, and they hope to rebuild it. They say insurance is helping.
However, they do not have food or clothing, but family and friends are helping. For now, they are living in a hotel.
"I don’t’ want anyone to feel sad because we don’t," Charlie said. "We don’t."
"We’re so thankful God saved us. We got out," Olivia said. "I couldn’t cry about what was left behind because I was so happy we were out alive."
As for playing music downtown, Charlie Brown has not played for a few months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he but he plans to go back just as soon as he gets a vaccination. He also needs another keyboard because the fire destroyed it.
A friend has created a Go-Fund-Me page to help with food and clothing for the Browns. People who wish to help may do so by tapping this link.