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Flames destroy Telkwa home

61847smithersFireMar92011
Not much remains of this Telkwa mobile home after a fire devastated the property on Mar. 2.

A single mother and her two-year-old daughter were left homeless last week after a fire ripped through their rented mobile home.

The Telkwa Volunteer Fire Department received the call and three vehicles responded shortly after noon on March 2, Fire Chief Corey Kortmeyer said, however by the time they arrived, the mobile was fully engulfed in flames. They were able to put out an exposure fire on an adjacent hay barn, which suffered minor damages, Kortmeyer said.

“We found nothing suspicious in regard to the fire, however the cause has not been determined,” Kortmeyer said.

He did say that they suspected the cause had something to do with a heating appliance.

It was devastating news for 20-year-old Elizabeth Thompson, who lived in the mobile with her two-year-old daughter Claire, 13-month-old puppy Kharma and cats Spirit and Shadow.

Thompson, a single mother, was working her shift at McDonalds while her daughter was at daycare when she got the call from her mother, informing her of the fire.

“I was just worried about the animals,” Thompson said. “All I could picture was them burning inside my house.”

They lost everything, Thompson said, with no insurance on the house she isn’t expecting to see any settlements.

The news came just days before her last shift at McDonalds.  It’s hard to make a living on minimum wage, Thompson said, who is still planning on moving to Kamloops to take a healthcare assistant program.

“The community has been really good,” Thompson said.

People have been donating clothes for her daughter, she said, and Rayz not only gave her a discount for an outfit but the owner went through her own clothes, some of which she donated.

“Anything helps,” Thompson said.

Her employers have been really good as well, she said, letting her go three days before her last day to give her time to sort things out and get things back into order before moving to Kamloops.

Kortmeyer would like to remind people to have their heating appliance serviced and inspected on a regular basis, as well as prominently displaying home numbers and to ensure that their fire alarms and carbon dioxide detectors are fully functional.