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Fire leaves family homeless |
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Written by editor
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Thursday, 13 November 2008 |
A Coaldale father and his four young children are homeless after a fire early Thursday ravaged the rental home in which they were living.
Single parent Tom Jones was injured during the fire, but his three daughters and one son escaped unharmed.
“The kids are all in good spirits,” said Taylor Read, owner of the rental home.
The young family is temporarily living with Read and his common-law spouse, Andrea, who is also Jones’ daughter.
“She was quite shaken up this morning.”
Tom was to remain in hospital for 24-hour observation after suffering non-life-threatening burns, smoke inhalation and cuts to one of his hands.
“They have him sedated,” Read said.
Coaldale and District Emergency Services responded to the fire just after 3:30 a.m. Thursday. When firefighters arrived, the family had already escaped and the home was engulfed in flames.
“The fire was rolling out the three north windows of the house,” said Fire Chief Andy Van Rijn.
Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Van Rijn said it likely started in the kitchen and spread to the living room, then into the loft where the three girls slept.
He added there doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious about the fire, which caused about $200,000 damage.
The oldest daughter, 16, who slept in one of the loft bedrooms, managed to save her two younger sisters, who slept in another loft bedroom. They escaped out the front door. The father, who slept in the main-floor bedroom, had to smash a basement window — cutting his hand — to rescue his 12-year-old son.
The fire department extinguished the fire in about 15 minutes, but it had already spread to the attic. Van Rijn said the older home, the walls of which were lined with newspapers dating back to 1947, was destroyed, along with all of its contents.
“Heat and smoke destroys everything.”
Read only owned the 1,200-square-foot home at 2108 15 St. for about six months. Previously, the family had been living in a 600-square-foot home, also owned by Read, but it was too small and they were anxious to find something larger.
“Then this happens,” Read said, adding the house was insured, but the family didn’t have renters’ insurance.
“They basically don’t have anything now. No clothing, no shoes, no school supplies.”
Anyone who wants to help the family can drop off items such as clothing, school supplies, linens, mattresses, food and even money at Century 21, 1811 20 Ave. in Coaldale. The family also needs to find another rental home, preferably in Coaldale where the children attend school. Read said his own two-bedroom home, now accommodating seven people and three cats, will only suffice for a short time because he will soon be moving to Taber.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 August 2009 )
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