Support pours in for owner of fire-ravaged heritage home

A constant stream of people offered support and comfort to the owner of a fireravaged heritage home on Robert Street in Vic West Thursday.

“There were moms with children, handing over little packages of baked goods,” said Pamela Madoff, a heritage advocate, former Victoria city councillor and friend of owner Jim Lee. “Then warm banana bread arrived and drinks. And people stopping by to commiserate and offer sympathy. It was constant the whole time I was there. There were lots of children and cyclists and pedestrians, and everyone is hoping for a positive outcome.”

Madoff said she spent about four hours outside the home on Robert Street Thursday morning, watching people dropping off baked goods and offering to help Lee.

The house, built in 1903-1904 with a corner tower and a widow’s walk, was meticulously restored over the past 43 years by Lee. It was designated a municipal heritage site and a national heritage site.

Lee, who escaped the blaze without injury, will have to wait until at least next week for an assessment of damage from an engineering company to see if the turn-ofthe-century home can be saved, Madoff said.

“They’ll do visual inspections and take photographs. Then they’ll provide the information to the insurance company and they will make their decision based on that information.”

Madoff said Lee is doing better after the initial shock. “I think we were all sitting there today with a real sense of optimism. Jim was actually able to say to the kids: ‘We’re going to be back.’ ”

Victoria Deputy Fire Chief Dan Atkinson said the fire is not suspicious but is still under investigation. The insurance company will send an investigator to determine the cause of the fire, which is common practice, he said.