Mel & Ashton's Fire Relief Fund

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone that has donated. All out things have been put out on the drive in the bad weather and looks like very little can be salvaged after this. Your contributions are keeping us from becoming homeless during the ice storm and its aftermath! I cannot tell you how grateful we both are for all your generosity in our time of distress. You've all been so friendly and supportive. 

We're still living in a hotel at my expense as my landlord is not providing alternative accommodation but we're safe and dry and that's the important bit!

Well, as luck would have it, we had a wee fire during the Toronto ice storm. We rudely awakened at 1 am by thick black smoke. Thankfully, we all got out alive with minimal injuries after what was a perilous escape. The house didn't get off so easily and was damaged throughout. This is where I learned all about renter's insurance from the firefighters, police and paramedics who all swarmed to rescue us...what a thing to happen after only 7 months in a new country! Something they don't tell you when you're moving from abroad!

Sadly, pretty much all of our stuff is covered in sticky, filmy, carcinogenic soot which may take weeks to remove. Much of our things will probably need to be binned due to the lack of insurance.

I guess the only thing Ashton and I could think of after such an unexpected and devastating event was to lean on the kindness of family, friends and hopefully strangers. I hope you never have to deal with a fire, especially not when you're sleeping. But if you do and you're uninsured, I promise to be very generous!

A very grateful Ashton and Melanie