Support overwhelms man who lost home to fire

“It’s overwhelming really,” Nygaard said of the community’s support.

“The amount of support I’ve gotten from the city and my home community has been so generous. People helping me … [who] I would have never have assumed. They don’t even know me, some of them, and I would have never assumed they would have joined in for helping me out like that.”

City manager Jim Toye said many of the donations during the staff fundraiser came via a pizza lunch.

“We are a larger city and we do have a lot of employees, but I think … when people are in trouble, people come together, and make sure they recognize that and make a contribution that’s going to help this person and fellow staff member that’s in a difficult situation with no house,” said city manager Jim Toye on Wednesday.

The funds will help the family cover the costs associated with the Meath Park Fire Department and Buckland Fire and Rescue attending the scene.

Nygaard said there was some confusion about insurance coverage for that cost – in the city, it would be covered. It’s a different story in the rural areas.

His insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the firefighters attending. The bill hasn’t arrived, but it could be steep, since the crews were at the scene for many hours.

The fire and a frantic search

The Nygaards were at home on the day of the fire and Corey Nygaard’s daughter Coralie told him she smelled smoke. Corey went to the kitchen and smelled smoke too.

At first, he thought his neighbours were burning garbage, but when he went outside, he saw that smoke was rolling out of the soffits in the area of his son’s room.

Corey saw the door to his son Aidan’s room was closed, and thought Aidan was laying on the bed.

“And so I jumped on the bed to pull him off, but it was just sheets,” Corey said. “When I opened the door, that area of the room caught fire and so I burned my hands.”

When didn’t find his son, he pulled out two fire extinguishers in the house to try to fight the flames so he could continue to search.

Corey ran outside to get a third fire extinguisher from the garage. His daughter was on the phone with 911 dispatchers and she wasn’t sure where her brother was. Corey went back in the home with the extinguisher, but by that time, the smoke was so thick that he couldn’t stay inside the house.

It wasn’t until Aidan walked out of a garden shed on the property that Corey knew his son was safe.

Corey ended up with second-degree burns on eight of his 10 fingers. The burns resulted in what he described as “very big blisters.” He said they’ve healed “quite well” and the bandages have been removed. His fingers are still tender.

Corey couldn’t work for a week – he couldn’t drive or type. He has since returned to work.

He said the experience has been traumatic for his kids, but they are mature young adults who have coped “quite well.” The support of the community has helped that come along, he added.

A few items in the house were salvaged. Their passports and birth certificates were in a security box, and they were able to save one of Coralie’s guitars.

The guitar won’t sound the same, but they are keeping it for sentimental reasons.

Everything in the garage, however, was saved – with the help of community members.

A family at a funeral at a nearby community centre saw the smoke and went to his house.

“There must have been 50 of them or more and they pulled everything out of my garage within minutes before the fire department and the ambulance showed up.”

Now, with no home and much of their belongings lost, the family lives in a rectory.

The rectory is the house the priest for the Catholic church in Albertville would normally stay in. The house was vacant for a month and it was fixed up for the Nygaards within a few days of the fire.

Another man was supposed to have rented the building, but instead found somewhere else to stay while the family rebuilds their home.

For Nygaard, the advantage is that the family remains in its home community, which allows his children to go to the same school and he will be able to commute to work as he always has. He’s also a member of the local council, which he said lets him stay in touch with his community.

“And, even better, it’s the house right beside mine. So I’m basically beside my same yard and can be there for the entire rebuilding process.”

While the loss of their home could have led Nygaard to opt to relocate, he doesn’t want to leave this community behind.

“You can’t move away from such an environment. Those are people you want to surround yourself with. And knowing full well it doesn’t matter who it is in that community, that same kindness will be provided.”

A supper to raise funds to help the Nygaards will be held at the Albertville Rec Centre on May 2. For more information, click here.

-With files from Nigel Maxwell.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

Support overwhelms man who lost home to fire

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