As cleanup of a Brow of the Hill apartment gutted by fire continues, the community continues to rally around the victims.
The three-storey apartment at 404 Ash St. was destroyed by fire on the morning of Jan. 31. While no one was injured in the fire, all of the tenants in the 31-suite building were left without homes.
“I am told they have all been housed,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, who helped coordinate a trust fund set up to assist the victims. “Salvation Army furnished all their furniture needs.”
Before the flames had even been extinguished, community members were offering financial support and donations to help those whose homes and possessions were destroyed in the fire. In addition to donations of furniture, clothing and household items to help the displaced tenants get set up in their new homes, individuals and groups donated more than $18,000 in cash, with most of the money being used for dental services (some tenants fled without their dentures) and food.
“People always buy food,” Puchmayr said. “They can save money they were going to be buying food with and use it for other needs.”
One of the latest contributions comes from Save-On-Foods, which is donating $3,000 in gift cards. Thrifty Foods contributed $500 in gift cards, the St. Vincent De Paul Society at St. Peter’s Church purchased $4,000 in gift cards and Reliance Insurance Agencies Ltd. donated $5,000 to the trust fund.
“McBride Elementary raised $528, which is pretty noteworthy. There are a lot of anonymous contributions,” Puchmayr said. “It is really heartwarming to know so many people care.”
The Reverend Emilie Smith of St. Barnabas Church has been working with Puchmayr to coordinate the trust fund.
The Salvation Army coordinated the dispersal of the items that were donated to St. Barnabas Church, Shiloh-Sixth Avenue United Church, the Sally Ann and other groups. Some of the excess donations were shared with other nonprofits and faith-based organizations in the community that help those in need.
St. Barnabas Church later held a rummage sale to raise additional funds for the fund and disperse of the surplus donations. The sale raised $929 for the fire victims.
Shanyn Maguire, a traffic reporter with News1130, decided to hold a fundraiser for the Ash Street fire victims after flying over the site. She’s holding a Dress Up Your Heart fundraiser on Thursday, April 10 at the Burnaby Winter Club, which features entertainment and a silent auction.
“You look at the economic status of the people affected – a lot of them are on fixed incomes or pensions. There is always a need. Anything will help,” Puchmayr said. “Getting more assistance down the road will help. It’s all going to help.”
Meanwhile, the city’s emergency advisory committee is reviewing policies that prohibit the Victims Assistance and Emergency Support Services from providing agencies with contact information about victims of emergencies. Because that information isn’t permitted to be shared, the coordinators of the trust fund haven’t been able to contact all of the former tenants of 404 Ash St.
“If there are any fire victims that haven’t communicated with St. Barnabas or the Salvation Army, we are hoping they will do that,” said The Reverend Emilie Smith of St. Barnabas Church. “The hardest thing has been getting an accurate (tenant) list. We are waiting for them to find us.”
Smith said the 23 people who have been in touch with the churches have been “gracious” and appreciative of the community response.
Joan Drabyk, the city’s permit coordinator, said the site is slowly being cleared, but has been hampered by the lack of bins available for the process.
“They are specialized bins, which are then trucked to Alberta for disposal,” she wrote in an email to The Record. “There are a limited number of bins, which it seems are currently being shared by our two sites and possibly others in the Lower Mainland. They ship out to Alberta and then wait for their return.”
In addition to the Ash Street fire, the bins are also needed for the site of the Columbia Street fire. Fire destroyed two buildings on Columbia Street in October.
For more information about the upcoming fire fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/help404Ash.
