Andrew Nutall met Barbara Washington when he stopped to talk to her on the street 15 years ago because, he admitted, “She was a pretty lady.”
The two got together and moved into their place in the 4900 block of West Quincy Street shortly after.
In the years after they got married, the two mostly stayed home, according to Nutall, watching TV in separate rooms so they could each watch what they liked: Westerns for him and Lifetime movies for her.
Washington died in a fire at their Austin apartment Wednesday night. Nutall narrowly escaped.
“Now, I’m never going to see her again,” Nutall told the Chicago Sun-Times Thursday morning.
The fire was reported about 10:10 p.m. Wednesday, and firefighters found her inside, police said. She was taken to Stroger Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The fire is under investigation, though it has been ruled accidental, and there’s a possibility it was caused by “misuse of smoking materials,” Chicago Fire Department officials told the Sun-Times.
RPM Living, the building’s management company, said two units were deemed uninhabitable, and one person was relocated in the wake of the blaze.
Nutall said he heard the smoke detector go off and saw fire climbing up the curtains when he went into the living room. He ran to the kitchen and repeatedly filled a skillet with water to try to put out the fire and asked Washington to get a bucket from the bathroom since it would hold more.
He said it was the last time he saw her before the smoke and heat drove him out the back door, which he had to find by feeling around with his hands.
“All I saw was flames,” Nutall said. “It got so big, so fast, I couldn’t see my hands in front of me. … I couldn’t see the door, I couldn’t see nothing.”
He was allowed inside the apartment to get his keys and a few belongings, and he said everything was covered in soot and water. Washington’s brother Michael, who lives above them, also lost his apartment and escaped by jumping from a window, according to Nutall.
It’s the Washington family’s second loss. Barbara’s twin sister died of an ongoing illness last week. Nutall said they haven’t had a chance to hold a memorial service for her.
Washington is survived by Nutall, as well as her nine children, a brother, parents and “more than a handful” of grandchildren, according to Washington’s son Will.
Her son said she was “gentle” and a caretaker by nature, stepping in to care for relatives when they became ill or needed help. She was also an outgoing person and made friends anywhere she went.
“You could take her somewhere, you’d look over and she’d already have 50 friends,” Will Washington said.
Nutall said he hadn’t slept since the fire or figured out where he’ll stay in the meantime.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Nutall said.