FIRE LEAVES FAMILY HOMELESS
Officials to probe Mcgregor blaze
Jody Perron woke up Wednesday morning smelling smoke in her Mcgregor apartment.
Not long after, she lost everything. A fire at Naples Pizza below her unit that began before 9 a.m. and spread through the wall that joins with a pharmacy has left the 37-year-old single mother of two homeless.
She called 911 after seeing smoke inside her second-floor apartment coming from the wall behind her television. She and her two children, Zack, 14, and Zoey, 4, their dog and their neighbour escaped.
“Everybody made it out safe and I'm thankful for that,” Perron told the Star. “It's just, now memories are lost. Now we just have the memories in our minds.”
Amherstburg fire crews spent hours extinguishing the fire, a job made more difficult by the building's old age and the number of partitions inside, according to Amherstburg fire Chief Bruce Montone. A truck from Essex provided “additional manpower,” he said.
Part of Walker Road near Stewart Street remained closed while crews worked to put out the fire.
Montone said the Ontario Fire Marshal's office has been notified of the blaze. He expects the investigation into the fire's origin, cause and estimated damages won't be complete for several days.
Four tenants in total were displaced, including Perron and her kids.
Unable to secure affordable renter's insurance because of the high-risk living space above the restaurant, she is now relying on help from friends who are hosting her family while she finds a new place to live. A Gofundme campaign has been created to benefit Perron's family. As of Wednesday, more than $2,600 had been raised.
“I'm thankful for it. I'm not expecting anything,” Perron said. “I'm thankful for whatever I get because it will definitely help. I have nothing.”
Her son, who will celebrate his 15th birthday without a home on Sunday, is a “county boy,” Perron said, so she hopes to find another home in Essex County. The fire has left him “devastated,” she said.
Perron has lived in Mcgregor for her entire life. Both of her parents died in recent years.
“It's just been a rough go,” she said. The year “2020 has sucked with COVID, and losing both of your parents is a little rough, but you still move forward. If I can lose my parents and keep moving, I can lose a house and keep moving.”
Everybody made it out safe and I'm thankful for that. It's just, now memories are lost. Now we just have the memories in our minds