HOMEDALE, Idaho — Chris Goodnight, a firefighter in Meridian, is a recently divorced father of four children. This year has been difficult for Goodnight and his family, but things started looking up for Chris when he bought an affordable, fixer-upper home in Homedale.
He spent his weekends working on creating a home with his children by his side.
"Just getting to have them with me and participate in that with me was awesome," Goodnight said. "That actually gave me a lot of motivation to keep going on the days that I didn't have them because this was something I was making for them too."
Last Wednesday, Goodnight began working on the gas and sewer lines in the old house.
After taking a break and leaving the residence, Chris returned to find smoke billowing from his home.
"I was mad, I was confused, I was a lot of different emotions," Goodnight said. "I just kind of remember just sitting in my neighbors front yard, just watching the smoke pour out of my house. Just having to watch that, it wasn't the best feeling in the world."
Investigators told Goodnight the fire was caused by cables connected to equipment in his basement. Once the fire was put out, five months of hard work and 90% of Goodnight's renovations were completely gone.
"My advice is never to tell yourself that you've hit rock bottom because that bottom can fall out from under you at any moment," Goodnight said.
Goodnight was in need of extra help, prompting his girlfriend to start a GoFundMe page. It quickly gained a lot of attention in the community. Goodnight said he's been overjoyed to see community members reaching out to help him back on his feet.
Goodnight is currently staying in a hotel while his insurance company searches for a temporary rental for himself and his children.
"I know that this year has been hard for everybody, and I know that there's people out there that want to see you succeed, that want to help you out," Goodnight said. "And that's really what's been helping me through this, especially this last couple of days."
To support Goodnight and his family, click here.
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