In 1968, ten-year-old Charles Maree crawled through a broken grocery store window during Miami’s riots. Others grabbed cash, electronics, or valuables. Charles picked up a box of tangerines.
It was a small act, but one that lingered in his memory. He didn’t leave with riches. He left with a symbol—a reminder that survival often isn’t glamorous, and that even rebellion can come in unexpected forms.
Years later, Charles found himself facing another kind of riot. This time, he wasn’t a child in the streets but an ambulance attendant in the chaos of the McDuffie riots. He saw firsthand the cost of injustice, treating victims of violence while the city burned again.
The box of tangerines came full circle. What began as a boy’s desperate attempt to claim something during upheaval grew into a man’s mission to claim dignity, justice, and service in a career defined by fire and fight.
In Gods of Fire, the tangerines aren’t just fruit. They represent transformation—the first step in a journey from locked doors and street riots to the office of Assistant Fire Chief.
Charles’s story reminds us: it’s not about what you take in moments of crisis. It’s about what you carry forward.
