Driving home late afternoon two weeks ago I saw plumes of black smoke coming from Hospital Hill. As I got closer I took a deep breath and steadied myself. Someone, I thought to myself, was having a really bad day.
Police and emergency vehicles had cordoned off Lower Clark Drive. Fire trucks were pumping water, and people were standing by watching, horrified, as flames leapt skyward on what was already an incredibly hot day.
Every house fire I’ve witnessed – or even heard about – in recent memory has felt overwhelming. It’s been nine years since my husband and I lived through an apartment fire in Vancouver.
The night of our fire we woke to breaking glass and five fire trucks outside our bedroom window on busy Commercial Drive. First responders were shouting at us to get out of the building. It was 2 a.m. We each grabbed a cat and a coat and fled.
Thankfully, everyone in the four-unit building escaped without injury. The restaurant we lived above was gutted, along with parts of our home. We lost a lot of stuff, mostly due to smoke and water damage. I remember trying in vain to salvage things like suitcases and Tupperware. You can never get the stench out of some things.
The year and half that we lived there was the only time in my adult life that I didn’t have homeowner or tenant insurance. It was a huge hit to a young couple expecting their first child. As anyone will tell you, big city living doesn’t offer the same community as a small town. Save for several hundred dollars donated by co-workers, we had to rebuild.
Back in Squamish, it was late in the evening when I learned the fire started in the Willmots’ home. The Willmots are friends of ours. In fact, Brandy Willmot, who is a co-owner of the Watershed Grill, previously had a home daycare and lovingly took care of my eldest when she was a toddler. Everyone, including their four children and all pets were safe, but their home was lost.
Sadly, the neighbouring house was destroyed as well, leaving Charlie and Helena Young and their two children Alex and Poppy also stranded.
The Willmots are longtime residents of Squamish. The community support this family has received – due by and large to their incredibly outgoing and loving natures – has been amazing. An online fundraising campaign set up by a friend has already seen the family surpass its $10,000 goal by a couple thousand dollars. Brandy has said she wishes she could invent a language that encompasses the amount of gratitude she feels, that “thank you simply isn’t enough.”
The Young family is relatively new to the community and without the same network of connection and support. What makes this especially hard is that this family was without contents insurance.
I know this community is capable of helping the Youngs reach their goal. They may not have a house to rebuild, but they do have a home to recreate.
This will take a bit of time. And money. We just need to pitch in and fill in the gaps. To do so, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/helena-and-charlie-young-fire-relief-fund.
