A pair of Barrie families were dealt devastating blows on Thanksgiving after fires broke out in their homes.
Thanksgiving Sunday was likely a wonderful and fun family dinner day for most people in the city, but for two families, the scare of a house fire will be hard to shake off any time in the near future.
The two families that were displaced this long weekend live on Shadowood Road, at Meadow Lane, following a garage fire, and the other on Hawthorne Crescent, near Ferndale Drive, after a dryer fire.
The family from the Hawthorne Crescent has a had someone put up a GoFundMe page that reads:
On the morning of October 7th, the Kennedy family’s residence caught on fire. None of the 6 family members or 2 dogs living in the house were injured and were able to successfully evacuate the home. The family includes four young children ages 9 months to 8 years old. All of the family’s belongings were damaged by the fire. Years of family memorabilia gone.
Fire captain Jason Smith, who was working at the Dunlop Street fire station in downtown Barrie today, said there are always lessons to be learned from any fire that occurs.
“The first fire today was a garage fire over on Shadowood," he said, adding firefighters from Station 4 were the first on scene and were able to quickly known down the blaze, which was contained mostly to the garage.
“Shortly after that, we had just got back to the station and we were called to Hawthorne," said Smith, adding there was a lot of smoke. "It took a lot of time to overhaul as it had a lot of contents to work your way through.
"If there is a safety message to go out it is that stacking stuff around your appliances isn’t the best as a lot of appliances need air to get in," he added. "The good news is there hasn’t been a cooking incident today, which is usually the case on Thanksgiving.”
On a holiday, the Barrie fire department is at a minimum staff, but will call in anyone who is off should the need arise.
Smith explains that no one is in firefighting for the heck of it and anyone and everyone who decides to put on the uniform knows how tough the job can be.
“Everybody knows when you come here that there’s going to be days like today where you’re going to be away from your family, but we look at it like we’re with our second family here and we all pull together,” he said. “You just know to make arrangements for you and your family to have your big dinners on another day.”
From 8 a.m. until 8 a.m., Smith and his crew will be answering the calls from those who need help.
A 24-hour shift is commonplace for anyone in firefighting, and Smith will enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner with his family on Monday.
But today, duty called.
“We work a 42-hour work week like everyone else; it is just compressed into a few days,” said Smith. “It is mentally tough when you work a 24-hour Friday and a 24-hour Sunday. That is the only part of the schedule that is tough like that, but we accept going in and most importantly we have families that accept that going in, too. The older you get the more routine it becomes.”
Sunday kicked off Fire Prevention Week, which runs until Saturday, Oct. 13 and if anything should be stressed it is be vigilant and be prepared.
“Check your dryers, your lint traps and the vents that go outside,” said Smith. “Always make sure there is a clear path and nothing is clogging the vents. As well, and we tell everyone this all the time, make sure you have tenant insurance. The most important thing is to get out safe but after that, you want to make sure the financial burden is alleviated.”
To assist with the family that was displaced today from one of the fires, check out the page at here.
