COQUITLAM HOUSE FIRE DESTROYS HOME

I'm just a University student from Ontario who took another trip to Vancouver to visit my older brother, my little one year old niece and four year old nephew who was beyond excited to attend Ranch Park Elementary in the fall. The trip became a habit for me. Vancouver, but more specifically Coquitlam, had become my escape from school, life, just everything. 3043 Spuraway Ave was my safe place, and anyone who's fortunate enough to find a safe place knows that just you don't ever want to let it go. A house is literally just that; a structure. Everyone knows that there is a significant difference between a house and a home. There's not many things that I can confidently say without some sort of doubt but knowing the difference is one. And as reality is slowly setting in, there's only one other thing that I've never been more sure of. Up until the day I stood in front of this home, without shoes or socks, and drowned out the sirens and everyone yelling to get as far away as possible, I watched the roof cave in and the windows being blown out by the pressure, completely engulfing the entire block and beyond in smoke. I can say that up until that moment, I've never had a broken heart. Everything in my life leading up to that point seemed so little and insignificant at that moment. Watching my brother pull onto his street and seeing his reaction to everything he's worked for and the life that he'd built for his family just completely shatter; that's what a broken heart feels like. I recount steps in my head constantly. I'm always replaying it mentally. Adding onto it the fact that I'm just one person, and as much I want to, I can't fill a void so huge by myself.

Any chance of at some point being able to retrieve even items to keep as memories was quickly shut down. In that split second, everything was gone. All of our identification, medication, etc. A house full of memories, and in a split second it’s been destroyed. If anyone could please find it in their hearts to lend a helping hand. Everything, even the smallest amount counts rebuilding my new life.

I pray that none of you will ever have to experience anything remotely close to this. God bless you all and please keep your loved ones close to you, anything could happen at any moment and this is a living example of it.

Link to article: https://www.tricitynews.com/news/fire-family-scrambling-to-find-place-to-stay-1.23395499