Now, in the days following the disaster, it's become an opportunity for many in Central Florida who have been touched the DJ's many, many charitable efforts to support him in his family's own hour of need.
His on-air colleagues carried the show without him Monday and Tuesday, starting the first hour off with news about his status in the first days after the fire.
"He talked to me this morning and he's just kind of going in waves," Grimes said to co-host Sondra Rae on the show Monday. "For a minute it's fine, and then all of a sudden ... the realization that everything you have is gone."
The DJ started a fire for his son, which then spread at his French Oak Drive home, said Johnny Magic's friend and attorney Mark NeJame.
Although fire crews arrived quickly, most of Magic's belongings were lost in the fire, according to a Saturday Facebook post, writing that they are grateful to be alive.
A GoFundMe page — which currently has over $63,000 in donations — was quickly set up for Magic and his family, with a goal of $100,000.
"The reason that people care so much is because of all the things that he’s done," Grimes said on Monday. "He doesn’t know all the people he’s touched, he’s starting to see it now and I think that’s why it hits him."
She was referring to Magic's Baby DJ charity, which has provided holiday gifts to disadvantaged Central Florida families for decades.
Magic, who has been spinning on the Orlando-area airwaves for more than 20 years, made his return to the airways on Wednesday, and provided an update, thanking the Central Florida community for their contributions at a press conference at the iHeartRadio Performance Studio in Maitland after his show.
"After 30 years of giving to this community, it's our turn to give back to him in this time of need," said NeJame.
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