Squamish woman dies in house fire
A downtown house on Fourth Avenue was engulfed in flames, which then jumped to a nearby home in the very early morning hours of June 28.
One woman, Mélissande Thomas, was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. She later died.
She and her partner Michael Marlow were living in the house where the fire started. By the end of the night, it was nothing but a charred shell.
Before firefighters managed to put out the blaze, the flames leapt to a neighbouring house, scorching one side of the building and tearing through much of its roof.
As a result, the two families and a single man — who happened to be one of The Chief’s reporters — living in that house were left without a home.
That building still stands, but it’s unclear when it will be habitable again.
Social services were able to attend to victims’ immediate needs and crowdfunding initiatives were set up for the two families, as well as Marlow and Thomas.
After fire, Fergie’s Cafe rebuilds
A beloved institution in Squamish went up in flames in the spring.
Since opening, Fergie’s has been a popular gathering place for locals, especially for those who wanted to spice up their breakfast and brunch routines.
But in April, an early morning fire swept through the building, gutting the structure.
The restaurant remains closed, but reconstruction efforts have begun with an eye to reopening the establishment in 2019.
Outside service boundaries, a trailer home burns
As flames swallowed a trailer home in Paradise Valley, there was little BJ Lawless could do except watch.
Since her trailer was outside the fire service boundaries of both the District of Squamish and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, there were no firefighters who could assist her.
However, locals rallied around the occasion. A crowdfunding initiative was set up to help Lawless recover some of the costs.
A family left without a home before Christmas
When Aggie Andrew started making frybread on her stove on Dec. 9, the last thing on her mind was being forced from her home for a year.
However, before she knew it, flames were racing through the kitchen.
As a result, Andrew and husband Shlomish lost just about everything.
They had just finished their Christmas shopping.
The house still stands, but it’s unclear when they can move back.
In the meantime, some locals are chipping in money via a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe called, “House Fire They lost everything!”
