The improper disposal of a cigarette ignited a blaze at a southeast Airdrie residence causing $250,000 in damages, Aug. 3.
The Airdrie Fire Department responded to a call at 149 Big Springs Drive at 9 p.m. and discovered a house partially engulfed by flames.
The fire began on the west side of the house on a deck, raced up the siding and quickly ignited the attic.
Fire crews had trouble getting the blaze under control. They assumed a defensive stance fighting the flames while the RCMP formed a perimeter around the residence.
“They lost the top floor and part of the roof,” said Ken Hubbard, assistant fire chief. “As soon as it gets to the eaves, it can run unchecked within the attic.”
All five occupants and their pets were safely evacuated and were forced to look on as the blaze consumed the top half of the home.
After several hours, the fire was finally contained and put out.
Hubbard said the house is a write off and the top portion will have to be rebuilt.
The house was a rental split into a top and bottom half. Kelsey Folkins and common-law husband Desmond Thring live in the basement with their baby Domanic. The family is expecting their second child any day now and were without renter’s insurance. Airdrie and District Victims Assistance Society and Red Cross are currently assisting the family. Upstairs tenants Kristee Pitre and Stephan Brigas escaped unharmed and had insurance.
The house was said to have had properly working smoke alarms, said Hubbard.
Before the blaze was fully contained, community member Amanda Metherall and Folkins’ sister-in-law Gladys Devlin set up a Facebook page, offering support.
“We were most worried about the babies,” said Metherall.
“I was shocked,” said Devlin after hearing about the fire.
“They have a 20-month-old and a baby on the way. They’ve been making a life for themselves. It’s just hard to think they have nothing right now.”
Devlin said Folkins and Thring are staying with her sister in Airdrie and mentioned her brother is having a hard time letting go of what remains of their possessions.
“I think a lot of it is they’ve worked hard for this stuff,” she said.
An outpouring from community members, offering furniture, tables, clothing and even offering suggestions of places to live have been pouring in on the Facebook page.
Folkins wrote on her public wall Aug. 6, “Thanks we are doing alright the best it gets.”
A trust fund was established at the ATB Financial bank in Airdrie and two storage units have been rented out in Crossfield so the couple can receive donations.
The other renters Pitre and Bigras moved to Airdrie from Ontario about two years ago. Pitre, from Windsor, Ont., is the store manager at Blockbuster and posted on Facebook how grateful she is for the help.
“We don’t have any family here, so all the help and generosity of the community is so amazing...” Pitre wrote.
Bigras, from Noelville, Ont., posted a 35-picture album entitled “sad pics” on his Facebook account, which chronicled the aftermath of their gutted southeast Airdrie house.
Thring is 19 and from Didsbury. He and Folkins, 17, have been together since 2008. Folkins’ page said she is from Saint John, New Brunswick.
For more information or to donate, visit www.facebook.com/groups/250225588334842/
A garage sale at the Pete Knight Arena in Crossfield Aug. 14 will benefit the couples. The sale begins at 9 a.m.
