Fundraiser launched for families of fire victims
Monday vigil planned for four children, three adults killed in Chestermere tragedy
A fundraising campaign has been launched and a vigil is being planned to support the relatives of seven people who died in a house fire in Chestermere early Friday morning.
A boy and a girl, both 12, an eightyear-old girl and a four-year-old boy perished in the fire in a home on Oakmere Close. A man and a woman both thought to be 38 and another woman approximately aged 35 also died, RCMP confirmed. A man and four children escaped the blaze.
The home was owned by Amjad Kamal, neighbour Khaleel Bhatti told Postmedia. Amjad, wife Batool Rashid and their five children were hosting his brother Asad Kamal, wife Rafiya Kamal and their three children, Bhatti said.
Amjad survived the fire, but Batool Rashid, Asad Kamal and Rafiya Kamal all died in the blaze.
The family released an official statement Saturday evening through Imad Ali Syed, calling the fire an “unexplainable incident that has rocked the entire community.” Extended family and friends are supporting the survivors in Calgary, it said.
“The family is distraught over the events that took place and would like to have some privacy while they grieve for this tragic loss,” the statement said, asking people not to speculate on the circumstances of the fire.
Saqib Khan, Batool Rashid's brother-in-law, said the family is continuing to grieve the loss.
He said he will remember Rashid as an amazing woman who raised five terrific kids.
“She was an amazing person, highly intelligent, and very, very giving,” said Khan. “(She was) humble, down to earth. She raised five kids — amazing kids. (They're) the type of kids you see and you wish that your kids could be like.”
He said three of her five kids were killed in the fire. A fourth child was also killed.
Khan said extended family have begun to fly to the Calgary area to support and be with one another.
“So there is a bit of a support system, there's not much that you can do apart from that, just be present for one another,” said Khan.
A fundraiser has been started on the website Launchgood by the Muslim Council of Calgary (MCC) Relief Centre. As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the campaign had raised just over $16,000 of a $30,000 goal. The fundraiser will run until July 29.
“All proceeds will go towards the support of the family,” reads the campaign's description. “The Muslim Council of Calgary Relief Centre will ensure the funds will be dispersed to the family directly.”
Mohamed Charanek, chairman of MCC, said family will have many expenses from funeral costs, to buying new clothes as well as travel and accommodation with extended family flying to Calgary from Ontario.
“In order for them to start that grief process, we thought we'd get a few of the worldly things out of their way, so they're not distracted,” said Charanek.
He said MCC will be waiving any funeral-related costs for the family. Charanek thanked both the City of Chestermere and City of Calgary as well as the broader community for showing support.
“Everybody's first shocked, saddened, our hearts are with the families. Our prayers, most importantly, are with the families and we just pray to God He makes it easy on the family, gives them patience and the strength to get them through this time,” said Charanek.
Abed Harb visited the site of the fire Saturday morning, saying he didn't know the family closely but had connections to them.
He said it is important to show support and for the community to come together.
“Our thoughts and prayers re with the family as they struggle through these traumatic events,” said Harb. “Whether it's the Muslim community or the general Calgary community, we're standing in solidarity with this family.”
Special prayers were held at Calgary's Green Dome mosque and at the Chestermere Islamic Centre in honour of the fire victims.
Imam Syed Soharwardy, with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, says relatives of the family, some of whom have just arrived in Alberta from Ontario in the wake of the tragedy, watched livestreams of the services.
Social media posts show there is a community-planned vigil for the victims set to take place on Monday. A post in a Chestermere community group said the vigil will be in the city east of Calgary but an exact location has not been set.