A fire on August 9 has left a family with nothing.
Sometime in the afternoon a fire began at a home just outside of Moricetown. Theresa Tait-Day and Fred Day lived there but were out when flames began to rise.
When the fire was over, there was nothing left but a foundation.
“The place is burned right down,” said Theresa’s adopted sister Barbara Findlay, who has come up from Vancouver to help the family.
The only thing that managed to survive the fire was the family’s cat, who hid under a couch and managed to make a run for it when the flames got low enough.
“Nobody was home except the cat and amazingly the cat survived although the cat is currently in the vet hospital on IV.”
They live a ways back from the highway and Findlay said that the fire trucks had to continually return to the road to refill on water from a fire hydrant.
They don’t yet know what caused the fire.
The family had no insurance and so are left in a tight spot.
To help them out, many in the community are starting to band together in support. Financial donations can be made at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union. Just ask for the Theresa and Fred donation account.
They would also like help in building the house itself when they’re ready for that and need volunteers and building material.
People can contact Theresa at 250-877-8569 if they want to somehow help out.
Rebuilding the home unfortunately can’t replace many of the items that were lost, including traditional regalia.
“Theresa is a Hereditary Chief. She lost all her regalia,” said Barbara. “She lost all her photographs. She lost all the history of her family that goes back generations. Everything.”
