Support has been pouring in for a northern Saskatchewan First Nation chief and his family after they lost everything in a house fire last weekend.
Big River First Nation Chief Jack Rayne’s home was destroyed in a blaze on the evening of June 13 that RCMP believe was intentionally set.
Making matters even worse, Rayne said the home was uninsured.
However, he said he and his family have been touched by all the support they have received in recent days.
“Well, I’m getting more and more support everyday which I really appreciate,” Rayne said. “Because at the moment, I have nothing but there’s nothing wrong with rebuilding, I guess.”
He said what is particularly difficult is he built the residence himself from ground up 13 years ago.
“I built it back in 2007. I built it from scratch, so that’s the big loss because I built it myself and paid for everything from my pocket. And a lot of sentimental value I guess, a lot of my personal belongings, everything I own went into that fire.”
Luckily, Rayne and his family were away from the Big River First Nation when the fire happened.
RCMP have deemed the blaze as “suspicious” but no one has been charged as of yet.
So far, a GoFundMe page for the family has raised just over $7,000.
Rayne, who was elected chief last October, said he has no idea why someone would want to do this to him.