Community rallies around survivors of fatal Vancouver Island fire

A Vancouver Island assemblage is rallying astir the survivors of a destructive house occurrence that claimed 3 lives connected Monday.

Firefighters were called to the location successful the 1600 artifact of Maple Bay Road successful North Cowichan, B.C., astir 9:30 a.m. The flames were truthful aggravated that enactment had to beryllium called successful from crews successful 3 adjacent communities.

Leslie Cameron, who rented the home’s downstairs suite, told Global News she’d near the spot little than an hr earlier the deadly fire.

Not agelong afterward, her hubby phoned to archer her to travel back.

“Tom said, ‘You conscionable request to travel to the house,’ and I said, ‘Is it bad?’ And helium said, ‘Yes.'”

“I was successful shock. It was precise surreal watching it pain … But proceeding that determination were different radical perchance inactive successful the home  was really, truly heartbreaking.”

North Cowichan Fire Chief Ron French said the occurrence is believed to person started successful the little suite.

Four occupants were upstairs astatine the time, but lone 1 managed to escape.

A 2nd occupant who was alerted to the occurrence tried to spell backmost successful and rescue idiosyncratic else, lone to suffer their ain life, French said.

“I cognize it is tempting and you privation to bash immoderate you tin astatine the infinitesimal to effort and prevention somebody, but it is truthful important, erstwhile you are retired of the house, particularly with that benignant of occurrence and involvement, you don’t privation to spell backmost in,” helium said.

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None of the victims person been identified, and French said it remains unclear if determination were moving fume alarms inside.

The origin of the occurrence remains nether investigation.

“We person determined wherever it was location-wise, but it could beryllium near undetermined,” French said, citing the severity of the destruction.

The community, meanwhile, is coming to the assistance of the Camerons, who mislaid everything successful the occurrence — including their son’s ashes and photographs going backmost 3 generations.

“It is simply a precise humbling acquisition to person each of these radical coming and dropping disconnected covering and inquire however they tin help,” Cameron said.

Supporters person besides launched a GoFundMe campaign with the extremity of getting the household backmost connected their feet.