Outpouring of support
Family left homeless after losing everything in fire in Murray Harbour North
MURRAY HARBOUR NORTH, P.E.I. – The community is coming to the aid of a family who escaped with only their phones and eight cats before a fire destroyed their Murray Harbour North home last month.
When Anita Johnston came home from work on Feb. 19, she started to notice the smell of smoke coming from the basement.
She and her three children managed to rescue eight of their 18 cats and quickly got out of the house before it became too dangerous to go back in.
Now unable to re-enter due to fire damage, the family of four is staying in a Montague hotel. Johnston said her family has since received a lot of help not only from local organizations but also from many community members offering essentials like furniture, clothing and small appliances.
“We're so grateful with such outpouring of everybody who wants to give,” she told Saltwire in an interview Feb. 28. “It's so many, too many to list everybody's names, but they all know who they are. And we really appreciate them.”
A Gofundme page has been set up by a family friend for those willing to donate, and several local businesses in the area are accepting contributions for the family.
‘EVERYTHING'S BEEN CHAOS’
The blaze hit just as Johnston and her kids were coming to terms with the death of her husband in January.
“We're all still grieving. We were just feeling that we're getting back to a bit of normalcy with our everyday life, and then the fire in the house happened and now everything's been chaos again.”
On that day, she vividly remembers barely settling in at home for a few minutes when the strong smell of basement smoke hit. Neither she nor her kids had used the woodstove down there. Opening the basement door unleashed thick puffs of smoke filling the house. She called 911.
Although she could hear snapping and crackling below, the smoke was so dense she didn’t see any flames. They tried throwing buckets of water down the stairs, but to no avail.
“At that point, basically it moved into survival,” said Johnston.
Everyone grabbed what they could, but most important to them were the cats. The family rushed around the house and handed out as many cats as possible to whoever was outside and placing them in one of their cars nearby.
As the smoke thickened and it became difficult to see and breathe, Johnston realized going back into the house for the remaining pets became too risky.
“So, I just said, ‘Nobody else is going back in the house. I won't be able to handle losing anybody else right now.’”
The family and the cats sat
“We’re so grateful with such outpouring of everybody who wants to give. It’s so many, too many to list everybody’s names, but they all know who they are. And we really appreciate them.” Anita Johnston
in cars at the end of the laneway, waiting for first responders to arrive.
A WRITE-OFF
Troy Ferguson, chief of the Murray River Fire Department, said they arrived around 3 p.m. on Feb. 19, with about 20 members and five fire trucks responding.
They received support from fire departments in Murray Harbour and Montague, along with the Red Cross, RCMP and Island EMS.
The fire originated in the basement and spread up the walls, he said.
“We were there about seven hours probably before we got it completely out,” the fire chief said.
“They lost everything. The house is a write-off, and everything they owned was lost.”
Johnston suspected the fire might be related to the old wiring in the house, given that it was an old farmhouse. Ferguson agreed this could have caused the blaze. No investigation was conducted by the P.E.I. Fire Marshal’s Office.
LINGERING MEMORIES
Johnston is considering selling the property since the house is beyond repair and wasn't insured, so rebuilding through insurance isn't an option.
Although it has been two weeks, the memories of that day linger, especially whenever they catch a whiff of burning wood smoke, Johnston said.
“It just throws us back to that day, in the thick of all the smoke, trying to get the cats out.”
Johnston said she’s grateful for the help from the Emergency Animal Response Team, which took care of the cats. The family has gotten four of them back, while the other four have been either adopted or placed in foster care.
A local business owner has offered the family a place to move in March, rent-free for a month.