The Neigel family had one of their worst fears realized when they returned home from vacation to find their home burned to the ground on Thanksgiving weekend.
While Cathy and Tim were away, their daughter Tori was looking after her childhood home on Campbell Road.
“The fire department phoned me, that’s how I knew the house was on fire,” said Tori, recalling how the incident played out just a few short weeks ago.
“The neighbour called it in at about 10 a.m.”
When Tori arrived at the property she was blown away by how quickly two of the structures had burned; the first being the house she grew up in, and the second being the shop where her father kept all the tools and woodworking equipment he used for his retirement income.
“If it had just been the house that burned down, we could have renovated the shop for us to live in before the winter because it is insulated,” said Cathy. “But this kind of left us without options. We lost our home, all our stuff that we accumulated over 30 years, and our source of income all in one swoop.”
To add insult to injury, the fire took their home on Oct. 9, which happens to be the day after the Neigel’s 33rd wedding anniversary.
Cathy and Tim are living in town with Tori, and will be doing so for the duration of the winter. Although the family is still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that the house is no longer there, they are still in high spirits, and are grateful to the firefighters who stopped the fire from spreading even further.
“We really want to thank the Nicholson Fire Department, and those from the Golden Fire Department who came out to fight the fire,” said Cathy. “I’m just really glad that nobody was hurt, especially when the chimney came down.”
A gofundme page has been set up to help the Neigels rebuild, and replace many of the priceless items that were lost in the fire. It can be found at http://www.gofundme.com/fresh-start-2uap5n6k.
The fire has been deemed suspicious, and is currently under active investigation by the RCMP.
