Latest news with #MaxineEarhart
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6 days ago
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Maxine's on Shine owners seek 'angel' who pulled dog from their burning home
The Brief Fern Park woman credits mystery man with saving her, her dog, and family heirlooms from house fire. No injuries were reported, but the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. The search continues for the unidentified Good Samaritan. MAITLAND, Fla. - A Fern Park woman is searching for a mystery man she calls a hero after he helped her and her dog escape a house fire that damaged her home and a neighbor's early Sunday morning. What we know Early Sunday morning, a fire broke out between two homes on Lakewood Circle in Fern Park, damaging both structures. Maxine Earhart, the owner of Orlando's well-known restaurant Maxine's on Shine, was inside her home with her dog when a man she had never met began pounding on her door, urging her to flee. The man not only helped her evacuate safely but also retrieved a dresser containing family heirloom jewelry before disappearing. What we don't know The identity of the man remains a mystery. Officials have not confirmed what caused the fire, and there is no surveillance footage or confirmed leads to help identify the Good Samaritan. He is described only as tall and slender, with dirty blond hair, and possibly wearing an orange or green shirt. Witnesses believe he may have arrived in a white work truck, suggesting he could have been in the area for a job. The backstory Maxine Earhart and her husband run Maxine's on Shine, a restaurant known throughout Orlando. The couple now face the challenge of gutting and rebuilding their damaged home. Despite the loss, Earhart remains grateful that no one was hurt and is focusing her energy on finding the man who helped her. Big picture view The fire has sparked a community-wide appreciation for everyday heroism. Neighbors like Alyssa and Jordan Cobb, who called 911 and also tried to help, emphasize how quickly people stepped up in a moment of danger. The incident has highlighted the importance of community action and the role of anonymous heroes in emergency situations. What they're saying Maxine Earhart, who owns the popular Orlando restaurant Maxine's on Shine, says the unidentified man banged on her door to alert her as flames engulfed the side of her home on Lakewood Circle. She credits him not only with getting her out safely, but also with saving her dog — and a treasured family heirloom. "I there's a dent in my door from him, from bashing on it," Earhart said. "They weren't kidding. They were like, 'Get out of the house!'" Neighbors Alyssa and Jordan Cobb were driving nearby when they spotted smoke and called 911. As they rushed to the scene, they found Earhart inside with her dog — but they say another man was already there helping her escape. "I was just going to take the top drawer of my mother's jewelry out," Earhart recalled. "And he said, 'We'll take the whole thing.' Then he just picked it up and said, 'Get your dog, let's get out of here.'" Earhart said she plans to rebuild and continue working with her husband at their restaurant, but she hopes the unidentified Good Samaritan will come forward. "People keep saying, 'What if it was an angel?' Maybe he was," she said. "Come on down to Maxine's. We'd love to buy you a drink and dinner and thank you." STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the Seminole County Fire Rescue and Maxine Earhart, co-owner of Maxine's on Shine.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
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Seminole fire damages two homes, one where owners of Maxine's on Shine live
After fires ravaged California earlier this year, someone jokingly asked Maxine Earhart what she'd grab if her house ever caught fire. Sunday morning, as flames engulfed part of her Fern Park home, the restauranteur who owns Maxine's on Shine ran to save what she said she would: her mother's 1950s costume jewelry. The fire, which started just after 11 a.m. Sunday, damaged about a third of Earhart's home, destroying her sewing studio, with decades of collected fabric, and years of restaurant memorabilia she and her husband stored at home. It also damaged a neighbor's house before it was put out by the Seminole County Fire Department and the Maitland Fire Department. The neighbors whose home also burned declined a request for an interview. Earhart and her husband, Kirt, opened their restaurant in 2012 near downtown Orlando. It is an eclectic neighborhood favorite and a Michelin-selected restaurant known for its Sunday brunches. Officials think the house fire started in one of the sheds at the back of the properties but aren't sure which one, said Doreen Overstreet, a spokesperson for the Seminole department. The fire department initially reported that the fire spread rapidly 'after an explosion' but officials no longer think that happened, Overstreet said. Instead of an explosion, they believe the fire may have started with a ruptured aerosol can, such as those that hold spray paint or hairspray, though the cause is still undetermined. When the fire first started, Earhart was in bed, about to head into her sewing studio, when she heard a loud banging at the door and a man yelling. 'I go, 'Who are you?' Because I'm thinking, I'm not opening the door to some strange guy bashing on my door,' she said. 'And he goes, 'Your house is on fire,' and I'm in the house so I go, 'No, it's not because I see no smoke. I see nothing.'' With her fire extinguisher in hand, she ran to her kitchen but saw no flames, so she ran out to her front yard and saw what looked like 10-foot-high flames and billows of black smoke. She realized the fire extinguisher wasn't going to cut it. Earhart calculated she had one minute to get out of her house and ran to get her mother's jewelry — one of the only things she said can't rebuy if lost. As she was pulling out the dresser drawer that contained the jewelry, a man came in — she doesn't know who he is — and said, 'We're taking the whole thing, get your dog, let's go.' While he lifted the dresser, the man who'd first alerted her to the fire came in with his wife, grabbed her still-packed luggage from a recent trip and ran out, leaving her with both hands free to grab more of her personal items. Barefoot and still dressed in her bathrobe, she said she grabbed two dresses and one of the 50-plus hats she owns and ran back out the door. Now, despite what was lost, Earhart said she is 'going for lemonade' and trying to make the best of the situation. She is thankful that no one was hurt and that she has remnants of a home — including her hats and closet. 'I thought we were gonna lose everything,' she said. Earhart and her husband, who was at the restaurant when the fire broke out, will have to live somewhere else for at least a month, she said, but they feel well supported by the community. In the day since the fire, customers have bought gift certificates from her restaurant, friends have planned fundraisers and neighbors have offered her insurance advice and consolation. 'I still have a shelter, I have a restaurant that gives me food, I have friends, family and I have my closet. So I'm feeling like I'm feeling lucky,' she said.
