FOLLOWING GREAT LOSS, COMES GREAT COMPASSION
Great-grandfather thankful for kindness of friends, neighbours, community
Ervin Olsen needed to be at the West Pubnico Fire Department on Friday evening, even while he copes with the loss of his two great-grandchildren.
He accepted the invitation to speak where community members would arrive to grieve, included among them paramedics, volunteer firefighters and nurses.
“There are so many instances of gratitude that I need to pass out,” said Olsen from his Yarmouth home on Friday morning.
“People have been so, so kind and people have lifted us up in prayer. My wife and I, and the whole family. That’s where the strength comes from. I’m very thankful to those people.”
Six days had passed since four children perished in a house fire in Pubnico Head. His greatgrandchildren, four-and-a-halfyear- old Jayla Kennedy and three-month-old Winston Prouty, were among them. Olsen was at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital when his grandchild, Emma Kennedy, and her partner, Phillip Prouty, arrived by ambulance in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Olsen and his wife, Amelia, will be forever grateful for what they witnessed there.
“I watched these nurses do their duty,” recalled Olsen. “I watched them go in and working on these people, the room still smelled like smoke. I watched these young ladies and young men, they’d work on them and then they’d go in the corner and they would shed a lot of tears.
“They would compose themselves, go back in and do their job. I saw them do it quite a few times. It’s a pretty big deal, you know, watching the compassion they had. You know what, a lot of those people take that stuff home with them.
“That’s why tonight I’m not addressing the firemen alone, the nurses alone, I’m also addressing their partners who I know are dealing with this, too.”
Olsen is seemingly refusing to wallow in this tragedy. He has been emboldened by the outpouring of kindness. One young lobster fisherman donated a day’s pay to help with the cause.
A steady stream of cookies and sandwiches arrived at the Olsen household.
“People stop me and they don’t know what to say. My wife and I have received a million hugs.
“Hugs are so important. I’m not a huggy person but I accept them and I need them. We need these people’s prayers.
“We need strength at this time and that goes for any family going through any kind of a tragedy.”
On Friday afternoon Olsen paid Prouty a visit at the hospital, where he’s still recovering from smoke inhalation. Olsen said Prouty is making steady progress and is overcome by the outpouring of support.
Olsen’s granddaughter has been by her fiance’s side each day and continues to push on.
“It’s the worst thing that could happen to a woman, to lose their children. Our granddaughter is just a kid herself. I’m impressed with the way she’s handling it, her loss. She’s had to make some decisions. She’s made some wise decisions. We’re taking about funerals, we’re talking about cemeteries, things that we’re involved in that you just have to deal with.”
Olsen has also witnessed how the tragedy has served to bring communities together.
“I have seen families and friends, who maybe haven’t been talking to each other, now coming together and putting their differences aside. “They’ve thrown it away and come together.”
The province’s Medical Examiner Service has taken over the fire investigation. So far the cause of the blaze is unknown. Funeral arrangements were also underway. The Olsens plan to have a family service but had yet to set a date.
Still, Olsen carries some regrets. Looking back, he wishes he’d spent more time with the children.
“You’d never mind taking care of Jayla. She took such an interest in people and would come up and high-five you. She loved to make cookies with her mother. She was starting to get a little fluffy from eating all the cookies.
“It’s tragic, yes. But even though there’s so much tragedy, we’re feeling such a sense of community. That gives us all strength. People have gone beyond, beyond, beyond.”