It was at 4:00 in the morning, I was sound asleep. As I woke up I heard the alarm. I didnt clue in that I was in danger right away. I heard my neighbor calling, "It's a real fire! Get out!" I was confused as to why she was outside standing on the pavement calling up to me.......then, I looked up.......there it was, the fire was right above my head. I didnt know what to do. Panic sunk in. I went into the kitchen and tried to figure out what was important. I grabbed my keys and could not think of anything else that was important other than my life as I heard crashing and the roar of the fire above. I tested my door for heat, then got out, went down the hall, down the stairs and out to safety.

In this link you can see my apartment on fire through the trees.

https://www.cheknews.ca/saanich-fire-confirms-fatality-in-early-morning-apartment-fire-on-richmond-road-568910/ 

           Then we heard it. A blood curdling scream, coming from in the building.  I stood there, as tears rolled down my cheeks I knew I could not do anything to help her. Those screams haunted me for a long time after.  We all stood there, quietly watching for a minute. I then looked around and realized there were not nearly enough people out. One of my neighbors and myself went back into the building to bang on doors and get people out. (Mostly seniors). Then we found them on the other side of the building. With the exception of one person who sadly passed away,(her apartment is where the fire started) and a number of others gone to the hospital for various symptoms, everyone was safe. My apartment and the two directly above me were the hardest hit.


            My ceiling collapsed as the water from the fire trucks came through. There was smoke damage, asbestos, black mould and all kinds of other dangerous chemicals and contaminants in the apartment so concentrated that they did not feel safe to salvage anything. I lost everything again, for the third time in 3 years, I am now faced with starting over again. Everything my grandmother gave me, all of my sons' baby things I was going to give to him at the birth of my first grandchild. Everything I had spent the last 16 months building. Gone, in the blink of an eye. 

            I am the type of person that will usually just suck it up and get another job. Find a way to make the money to rebuild. When I found myself a single mother of two boys, I got another job to make ends meet. When I left an abusive relationship, I slept on the floor, took another job and saved the money for 3 months to be able to buy a new bed then saved up to buy other things I needed. However, this is the third time in three years that I have had to rebuild from nothing. I am worn out, I can't do three jobs anymore, this is the first time I am reaching out for help.  

I miss my recipe books, my pictures of my babies, my little garden on my patio, and so much more. I know that money won't be able to replace everything. But at least I might be able to have some resemblance of normal, at least I might be able to bake again, to paint, to have a new little garden again and make new memories and take new pictures of my boys, and rise above the ashes.

Thank you so very much for your help.

be safe, my friends,
Helena.