Jesslyn Delia Smith was at work when her Cobourg Street apartment caught fire.
“My boyfriend called me and I panicked,” she says. “It was really depressing having no way to see what was going on and being unable to control it.”
But Smith says the firefighters went beyond her expectations.
To prevent water damage, the firefighters unplugged everything and covered electronics and bookcases with tarps.
“I had no idea that they went to such great efforts to save people’s belongings,” she says.
More than 200 people in Ottawa have lost their homes to fires in the last three months.
The latest in the city’s string of fires torched a boarding house leaving a dozen people homeless last week.
The number has put stress on emergency services, such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
The Canadian Red Cross provides fire victims with lodging and meals for 72 hours, funded by donations. It also provides emotional support in partnership with the Salvation Army, and referrals to outside services.
George Dicker, a co-ordinator of disaster management for the Red Cross, says the organization’s 186 volunteers are busier than usual.
“Nobody’s upset about it,” he says. “We have a plan in place, and a backup team ready to respond, but we’ve been very busy.”
Smith says the Red Cross was on the scene of the Cobourg Street fire, but finding lodging was complicated because the fire occurred the night before the funeral of Const. Eric Czapnik, and many hotels in the area were booked.
“We were told it would take a few hours to find a place,” says Smith. “We called my sister because we basically had no other choice.”
Immediately after the fire, Smith’s mother set up a raffle to raise money for Smith and her boyfriend, Matt Dunn. Prizes in the raffle include a chair and a piece of artwork. Smith says her mother has sold about 500 tickets.
Other community fundraisers are doing their part. Elgin Street Public School set up a trust fund at TD Canada Trust to help student Natasha Neverson and her family who were displaced after a Mann Avenue fire on Jan. 23.
The Neverson Family Fire Relief Fund has received more than $3,000. Ken Lawrence, a friend of the family and member of the school’s parent council, says they’re hoping for a lot more.
The Neverson family is settling in again, Lawrence says. They have a new apartment, but are still in a state of shock.
Smith says she’s one of the lucky ones. Although she and Dunn lost a lot in the fire, the property management company of their apartment found them a new place to live in Centretown within a couple days.