NEWS PHOTO SCOTT SCHMIDT
Firefighters are seen battling a large residential fire in the 600 block of Industrial Avenue in this News file photo from July 2. An online fundraiser has been set up for a Medicine Hat man and his mother who lost all their belongings in the blaze that started on their neighbour's property.
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
An online GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched after a Medicine Hat man and his mother narrowly escaped a devastating fire that destroyed their triplex multi-family dwelling, leaving them no time to save any of their belongings.
“Me and mom were making lunch,” explains Craig Terrillon. “And my mom looked out the window and saw smoke, so I ran outside to see what was going on.”
Terrillon says he saw a couch stored under his neighbours deck that was fully engulfed in flames that were spreading up the neighbour’s deck and home walls.
“So I ran back in and yelled at mom to grab her purse and get out, we basically left with what we were wearing, we both had our phones, she grabbed her purse and that was it,” Terrillon said. “It was either you get out or you die.”
Terrillon and his mother Twyla Gardiner were able to escape the fire, however they could only watch as their home and all their possessions and memories went up in smoke before their eyes.
“When I yelled at mom to get out, the flames had already just started coming to my side, and by the time, maybe two minutes,” Terrillon describes how quickly his home was engulfed in flames.
Firefighters received a report of the large structure fire located in the 600 block of Industrial Avenue in the North Flats at 2 p.m. on July 2. Upon arriving at the scene, the structure was fully engulfed in flames.
Adding fuel to the fire, the blistering afternoon heat reached 36 C on the day of the fire and remains the hottest temperature recorded in Medicine Hat so far this year.
Two engine truck crews as well as a rescue ladder truck crew were dispatched to douse the blaze. Additionally EMS, police, city gas, electrical crews as well as the Red Cross also responded to the fire.
At this time, first responders believe the fire was started from a lit cigarette that fell through the deck causing the couch stored beneath the deck to ignite, however it still remains under investigation.
After only eight or nine minutes, all that remained of their home was a skeleton of the structure and a pile of ashes of everything the family owned, as almost nothing is salvageable.
Terrillon is staying with his sister, Jessica Gillrie, in her small home with his mother while they look for new housing options.
Gillrie set up a GoFundMe page to support future expenses of finding a new home and replacing a portion of their belongings shortly after the fire.
“These two people have helped me out in my life more than I can possibly explain and are the type of people to give you the shirt off of their backs if you so much as implied you needed it,” said Gillrie on the online fundraiser page.
“Any amount to help cover these unexpected expenses would be so very appreciated and immensely helpful to them.”
Donations can be made by visiting gofundme.com/f/medicine-hat-house-fire or by searching Medicine Hat on GoFundMe’s homepage.
Terrillon says some donors have experienced problems with the fundraising site and encourages people to send any financial aid over e-transfer toharleytaz@gmail.com.
