Pilot Butte rallies to support family after home lost in fire
REGINA The Pilot Butte community is pulling together to support a family who lost their home to a fire over the weekend.
Angela and Todd Stadnyk were in Winnipeg for their daughter’s ringette tournament when they received the news early Sunday morning that their Pilot Butte home had gone up in flames.
“The police in Winnipeg actually went and woke them up to tell them what had happened, because nobody could reach them at the hotel,” said Sean Schmidt, Angela’s brother.
The family immediately rushed back to Pilot Butte. Their 22-yearold son and 19-year-old daughter had been home at the time of the fire but had safely escaped and gone to a neighbour’s house.
“I was texting Angela (Monday) morning and … reality probably sets in, right? Her words were, ‘I’m a bit of a mess,’” said Schmidt.
“I would think it’s going to be a hundred per cent loss, like I can’t see how anything in there could possibly be salvaged. The house is still standing but most of the roof is gone.”
Still reeling from the situation, the Stadnyks declined to do an interview Monday.
The Pilot Butte Fire Department responded to the fire call around 3:35 a.m. Sunday. By the time the first unit arrived, the house and two vehicles in the front driveway were engulfed in flames, said Capt. Jason Hogg.
It took 12 firefighters and five fire trucks some five hours to fight the blaze. With Environment Canada reporting a wind chill of -34C around the time the fire broke out, crews had to battle both the heat of the flames and the effects of the frigid cold on their equipment.
“That was one of the main things we were battling, was the cold, the wind and equipment icing up and the firefighters air packs icing up,” he said.
“We have a rehab unit that we can put guys in and rotate guys back out, so it never actually slowed us down any. We were able to adjust to it properly.”
Despite the severity of the fire, Hogg said quick thinking by the two family members who were home prevented the fire from becoming even worse.
“When they heard the smoke alarm they actually closed all the doors in the house before they left which kept the fire from spreading to other parts of the house,” he said.
Local businesses and community members have jumped in to help the family, and Schmidt said the support has been wonderful.
The Broncos Pub & Grill in Pilot Butte is hosting a burger night fundraiser on Feb. 3, with all proceeds going to the Stadnyks. Owner Douglas Steadman said they began organizing the fundraiser as soon as they heard about the fire.
“When something like this happens in a smaller community, you know, it affects all of us because we are one big family and it really pulls at the heart strings for everybody,” he said.
“Everybody puts themselves in place of that person and recognizes how traumatic these things can be.”
The Broncos Pub & Grill will also be donating $5 from every pulled pork sandwich meal they sell from now until the end of February, and any other donations will be gladly accepted and passed on to the family, said Steadman.
The Emerald Park IGA is donating $100 of toiletries, and Schmidt started up a Gofundme to cover the family’s immediate costs before the insurance kicks in. The page’s goal of $7,500 was surpassed within 24 hours.
“When something happens, everybody comes together out here. That’s what makes Pilot Butte awesome,” said Steadman.
The cause of the fire and where it started is still under investigation, but foul play is not suspected.
For more information on the Broncos Pub & Grill fundraiser, visit their Facebook page.