Holden Nardone was looking out his window on Sunday when he saw something no 13-year-old wants to see: his friend Wesley's house, just across the way in their Huntersville neighborhood, engulfed in flames. Instead of freezing up, Holden ran to get his father, and together they sprang into action as the fire spread.
Holden and Wesley have played together in between their houses in Huntersville for years, according to WSOC-TV. Wesley and his family weren't home when the fire broke out, but their dog was.
A Teenager Responds to the Fire
As the flames spread, Holden and his father responded to the emergency.
The blaze broke out around 7 p.m. Sunday on Barnstable Drive, near Shady Vale Lane and Gilead Road, according to a separate WSOC-TV report. Fire quickly spread from one home to the neighboring one, leaving both with heavy fire, smoke and water damage. Crews first worked to stop the fire from spreading to yet another neighboring home, according to QC News, which reported that firefighters found flames coming from the garage roof and the second floor.
Two Families Left Without Homes
One WSOC-TV report stated plainly that the fire destroyed the two Huntersville homes, leaving the families without a place to live. Queen City News reported that both homes had fire, smoke and water damage, and that the Fire Marshal’s Office deemed them unsafe. That report also put a number on the toll: a total of six people and three pets were displaced from their homes.
The cause of the fire and its exact point of origin remain under investigation. Whatever sparked it, the aftermath left two households suddenly homeless in a neighborhood where Holden's family has lived for about eight years, long enough for the boys to grow up playing football together in the yards between their houses.
A Kid-Led Fundraiser Takes Off
Rather than stop at helping during the emergency, Holden proposed organizing a fundraiser for the families who lost their homes. With his mom's help, he started a GoFundMe for the two homes and families impacted by the fire. The gesture has already rippled outward: it has inspired other neighbors to jump in as well, offering their own support to the displaced families.
One neighbor said they were grateful the families got help and planned to pitch in themselves, according to the original WSOC-TV account. For a 13-year-old who started his Sunday staring out a window at smoke, Holden has become something of a rallying point for a neighborhood trying to put two families back on their feet.
