For Trelane Hargreaves, nothing seemed out-of-sorts about this past Sunday.
A driver with Cariboo Taxi, he treats Sundays as nine-to-fivers do a Friday, as they normally fall at the end of his work week.
Not scheduled until the evening, Hargreaves decided to take advantage of the afternoon by fitting in a quick workout at the gym before his shift.
On his way back home, a fire truck raced by.
He pulled over, wondering what was going on.
While at the side of the road, his phone rang. It was his neighbour telling him his place was on fire.
“By the time I got there, it was a huge mess,” he says.
In addition to all his clothes, furniture and bed, Hargreaves lost his two cats to the blaze.
He had adopted Pandora, eight, and Gypsy, seven, when they were kittens and was very attached to them both.
His brother Jason and sister-in-law Amanda drove down from Prince George to see him.
“Just to see the look on his face was devastating,” says Amanda.
“To see him so heartbroken over everything was really hard. No one should ever have to go through something like that.”
Hargreaves says the investigator charged with discovering the cause has narrowed it down to two possibilities: a faulty wall plug or an overheated laptop.
At press time, Quesnel’s Volunteer Fire Department has yet to confirm a cause.
Emergency Social Services put Hargreaves up for a couple days at the Sandman Hotel and gave him coupons to eat at the nearby Denny’s.
While staying there, he got up every morning, made his way back to his apartment, put on a dust mask and gloves and set to work sifting through the wreckage to help clean up.
Hargreaves is thankful for the all the support he has received so far.
Unfortunately, he did not have renter’s insurance, so he is uncertain as to what the future will hold.
His brother has set up a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise $10,000 to offset some of Hargreaves’ expenses.
Anyone interested in helping him out can go to www.gofundme.com/rjens-house-fire.
