Photo courtesy of graduateinstitute.ch
There were no serious injuries reported after a fire destroyed a home this morning on the Buffalo River Dene Nation.
The blaze was first spotted around 2:00 am. Witnesses at the scene say it apparently started in a wood stove on the porch.
Jeffery Catarat was driving home when he saw a glow and decided to stop and see what it was.
Catarat says when he realized the house was on fire, he pounded on the doors, windows and woke up the people inside.
“The smoke didn’t take long to reach the bedroom, and we were just taking out all of the kids — that was our main concern to get everyone out.”
Catarat says there were eight to ten people in the home.
The house was completely engulfed in flames when local fire fighters arrived.
Catarat says the family lost pretty much everything, so fundraising has started on Facebook for Teddy and Tina Billette.
“One of my friends here posted something for them. They lost everything, all their clothes and everything. When I pulled them out of the fire, I was just wrapping them in blankets and putting them in my truck. Donations for them would be probably a good idea.”
So far, police and fire officials have not released details on the fire, but an investigation is expected to continue today.
A link to the donation page for the family is available here.