WKRG News 5

Uncertainty in the Navco area after fire destroys vital part of community

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Flames and smoke changed the future of Navco Community Outreach Wednesday night. Not just for the owner, but the entire community.

The owner, Alice Donoghue, spent the day trying to salvage what she could and find a way to move forward.

“I’ve been here since seven this morning, back and forth, and it’s way worse than I thought,” said Donoghue.

Before Wednesday evening, the building at 1366 Navco Rd was a saving grace for people in need. 

“We had people living in the woods, people living under the bridges and stuff, and they come and they know they can come and I would have stuff for them,” said Donoghue. “Sometimes it would just be a car that had a bunch of people in it that needed something and, you know, I’d let them get clothes and stuff like that.”

Donoghue told News 5 she grew up in the Navco community and always wanted to give back. 

Since 2002, she’s been a staple in the area by lending a helping hand whenever she could. Now, that’s being put on pause.

“I don’t know what to do with myself because this is what I’ve been doing from Tuesday to Saturday, every every week,” said Donoghue. “It didn’t matter what came up, I was here.”

Majority of the food and clothes she used to give out was destroyed by fire. Donoghue showed News 5 what caused it.

“You see the plug, it started there,” said Donoghue pointing to an outlet located at the front of the store.

She believes it was an electrical fire that started at an outlet where an extension cord was plugged into. 

People in the community joined in to help Donoghue clean up the mess to see what items could be saved.

“We’ve had people all day long up here today calling or coming by to say they’re sorry,” said Donoghue. “They realize we try to do what we can for the neighborhood.”

Now, her only hope is to get back to what she loves, helping the community.

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