A Blind River mother and her five-year-old son are homeless after a rental home was heavily damaged in an early morning fire.
The fire occurred on April 28, fire chief Ken Raymond said in a telephone interview with ElliotLakeToday. Firefighters responded to the call at around 9 a.m. and found smoke pouring from the roof of the home at 18 Dyke St.
“It (the fire) was already in the rafters,” Chief Raymond said of what firefighters discovered when they arrived at the scene.
Fortunately, the pair escaped the fire from the home where they were quarantined due to COVID-19 protocols, the chief added.
It took 14 firefighters about seven hours to fully extinguish hotspots in the home. No firefighters were injured.
At press time, there is no damage estimate or cause of the fire established.
“They are staying with a friend,” the chief said and acknowledged the Red Cross has been assisting the young family.
A GoFundMe page has been established in Blind River for donations of food, clothing, cash in a bid to resettle the family to a new rental.