St. Johns County, FL, Crews Find Bible Unscathed after Fire

May 10, 2025
The Shearwater house caught fire twice in one day, St. Johns County Fire Rescue officials said.

A St. Johns County house was destroyed following two fires in the same day.

The first was blamed on a charging golf cart in a garage while the other remains under investigation.

St. Johns County Fire Rescue crews extinguished that blaze and left, First Coast News said. 

Michael Goodman, one of the homeowners who wasn't there when the first fire started, spotted heavy flames when he drove up at 2 a.m.

“He pulled up and it was fully engulfed. The dormers were just falling into the house.  We're here. We have nothing. We've lost everything," Kathy Goodman explained.

“The fire engineer said 'is there anything in your room you would like to get out?' I said if the ladder is still okay, there's a nightstand right next to that. In that nightstand in the top drawer is my daddy's bible and in that bible is all the obituaries from all of his relatives. all the people we've lost in our family. He pulled it out and that Bible was untouched. I just got chills,” she said. 

About the Author

Susan Nicol | News Editor

Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.