WHITEFORD, Md. — They escaped from their burning home in Whiteford with their lives and little more.
“Then I seen flames and I came on through the house and woke him up,” Ron Scarborough told us at the scene of the fire a few weeks ago.
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The 71-year-old’s first thought was to make sure his older brother, Lawrence, got out.
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“No. I didn’t even smell nothing,” Lawrence told us.
“So if not for your brother, you may not have made it?”
“I may have not.”
When we asked Ron if there is anyone more dear to him than his brother, he choked up without words.
As news of the Scarboroughs’ plight spread, it reached Sara Heilman.
“My sister actually who still lives in the area, she sent me the news clip and was like, ‘Hey, don’t you know this guy?’” Heilman told us, “and I watched the video and it brought me to tears, and I just felt compelled to help.”
Heilman, who grew up in Pylesville and worked in Whiteford before moving on 15 years ago, also was flooded with memories.
“So I worked at a small, local grocery store, along with Ron, as I was working my way through college and I just remember on some of the worst days, Ron coming in and just making you smile, and I think it’s the general consensus that’s he’s just the sweetest, most innocent person and would do anything for anyone.”
While Northern Harford County is dotted with small, rural communities like Whiteford, which only numbers about 2,400 residents, Heilman says they really come together in times of need.
Heilman set up a GoFundMe account for the Scarboroughs, which brought in $7,000 in donations towards a goal of 50,000 in the first 24 hours.
“I think they’re so uncertain about what the future holds for them both, and I know that this money will at least help them, give them some time to rebuild or buy a place locally and just help them get back on their feet,” said Heilman, “I mean they’ve lost everything.”
Giving back to a pair of men who have spent their lives giving of themselves.
“We’ve been here 45 years,” Ron told us outside the charred remains of his home, “I don’t know if we’ll rebuild or sell the place or just what.”
