Three people are lucky to be alive after escaping flames from a house fire early Sunday morning.
Maple Ridge firefighters were called to the fire near 116th Avenue and Steeves Street in Hammond just after 4 a.m. on Jan. 14, when flames could be seen shooting high into the night sky.
Deputy fire chief Geoff Spriggs said seven trucks attended the scene and more than 30 firefighters. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Mercedez Larocque said her friend Crystal, whom she has known for more than 13 years, was in the house which she rents, at the time of the fire, along with her mother and 13-year-old son.
“She is just very, very overwhelmed at the moment,” said Larocque on Monday, Jan. 15, noting that her friend hasn’t really slept since.
“She just wants to go home, and she can’t.”
Larocque said the fire started in Crystal’s mother’s bedroom and woke her mom up. The fire, she said, spread very fast.
Crystal told Larocque that her mother burst into her room, screaming at the top of her lungs.
On the side of the house where her mother’s bedroom was located, there was also a bathroom, laundry room, a dining room, kitchen, and living room.
“And all of that was destroyed,” said Larocque. “The ceiling’s caved in and everything.”
Two dogs and three cats survived the fire, with one cat only found later that day.
“She kept having to like run back into the house to find all the cats because they are freaked out obviously,” explained Larocque.
Crystal was let back into the structure briefly Sunday night, to try to salvage some items. Crystal’s room and her son’s room were not directly affected by the fire, but everything is black and covered with soot, said Larocque.
However, on the mantle in the living room, Crystal had all of her family’s photos and her dog’s ashes. And when she was let back in the whole wall was burnt but she was able to salvage the ashes and a photograph of Larocque’s daughter’s graduation.
Spriggs said initial fire knock down took around 10 minutes after they arrived on scene, but firefighters remained for a little more than seven hours watching for hot spots in the walls and attic.
The cold, he said, offered firefighters challenging circumstances to fight the flames.
“What we have to do just logistically to support the activities is change how we manage our water, so that the water doesn’t freeze in the truck, it doesn’t freeze in the pumps, it doesn’t freeze in the hose lines,” he explained, noting that they have to keep the hose lines cracked a little bit, or let out a trickle of water, in order to keep the water circulating.
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But, even that has to be planned because as the water drips out it freezes and they have to be careful that it drips out in a specific area and that a walking path is still available to firefighters and salt is also used to keep the firefighters from slipping.
And they have to be mindful of not touching bare metal with their hands.
Spriggs is hoping to start the investigation by Monday afternoon into what caused the fire, but it was a busy weekend for the department who also responded to another structure fire at 240th Street and Dewdney Trunk Road on Saturday, nine calls for frozen pipes – including dealing with one at the fire hall which caused minor damage to the hall’s gym – in addition to the normal calls for help over the weekend.
Spriggs said he doesn’t know right now if the house can be saved or what the extent of the damage is. He said the fire started at the front of the house.
Larocque has started a fundraiser for her friend, to help her prepare, “for the tough times ahead.”
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Crystal, she said is a single mother, who worked as a hair stylist from a shop in the backyard. Although the salon was not affected by the fire, fellow stylist Larocque noted, she can’t work from home because she has no home.
“She built this beautiful life. She worked really, really hard to be where she is and now she’s got no way to work, she doesn’t have any savings – as these days it’s next to impossible to save anything, and she’s basically starting from scratch,” said her friend.
Her biggest stress right now is finding another home in which to live. Crystal is trying to find another place to rent that will allow animals.
“Her son just started high school and he really doesn’t want to have to switch schools on top of losing everything. Also because of the animals makes it hard as well. She’s crying, telling me she might have to get rid of some but that’s all she has left those animals are like her kids. They are apart of her family,” explained Larocque.
“She already lost her house she doesn’t wanna lose her animals and break her kid’s heart, as well having to get rid of them,” added her friend, noting all the animals are trained and well behaved.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 17, 30 donors raised $9,600 of a $10,000 goal.
Anyone with items to donate can get in contact with Larocque by email at: mlarocque87@hotmail.com.
To donate go to: gofundme.com/f/2ca8rn-devastating-house-fire.