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A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to assist a Prince Albert family, who have lost almost everything as a result of Wednesday morning’s brief but powerful storm.
Elizabeth Hallett was home sleeping, along with her husband, four children, and dog, when a wind gust pushed a spruce tree in the yard onto the power line, causing a fire in the attic area.
“There was a bang when the power box on the house blew up and you could see red sparks,” Hallett recalled.
The family immediately rushed downstairs, not knowing the house was on fire. Hallett explained it was only after neighbors came banging on the door and honking horns, that the family went outside to see what was happening and then immediately jumped into the van and drove to safety.
In order to extinguish the flames, the responding fire crew was forced to open a section of the roof. SaskPower and SaskEnergy arrived to shut the services off. Fortunately, there were no injuries but Hallett explained that as a result of the smoke and water damage, she lost everything.
“I’ve saved some pictures, some clothes, not a whole lot though,” she said.
The children range in age from four to 19 years old, and in the last 24 hours the community has rallied around the family. The Red Cross has also put the family up in a hotel for three days and supplied them with a debit card in the amount of $1,700.
“I am so overwhelmed by the support I have been getting from everybody,” Hallett said.
Hallett’s parents live in the city and so she said that’s an option of a place to go, but she’s also hoping her landlord can find them an alternate place to live. In the meantime, she is hoping to secure a storage shed for her remaining personal belonging, and any donations that come in.
“I don’t even know where I’m putting stuff right now, so I’m just kind of letting people know that if they have got things, that they can hang onto them for now until I can figure out where I an going to be putting everything,” she said.
Family friend Sarah Peiffer organized the online fundraiser for the family.
“This is more then losing everything, it’s an emotional time as well. You have to start over. You have children who fully don’t understand what just happened. It’s a lot to take in,” she said.
In a statement on the page, Peiffer thanked all the neighbors who came to the family’s rescue, stating if it had not been for them, the results could have been much worse.
“[Elizabeth] didn’t know where to start, I am just trying to do whatever it takes to make this transition as smooth as possible for them,” she said.
Peiffer explained the family will need everything from beds, furniture, kitchen stuff, kids stuff, teenagers stuff and adult stuff. Gift cards are also welcomed.