St. Lunaire-Griquet home suffers fire damage

Sunday (Aug. 20), the St. Lunaire-Griquet Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the home of Charles and Cassandra Humby. The St. Anthony Volunteer Fire Department was called to assist, given it was a larger structure with other homes adjacent to it.
The two departments were able to suppress the fire and save the structure itself. However, the inside of the home is a complete loss, says St. Lunaire-Griquet Deputy Fire Chief Chris Humby. The exterior walls and roofing is the only thing they were able to save.
The owners were not home at the time of the fire and nobody was harmed by the incident.
Humby says the fire started around eight p.m. An investigation by the two fire department chiefs and the RCMP led to the conclusion that the source of the fire was around the bathroom’s ceiling fan.
“It was the place in the house that had the most intrusion of the fire,” said Humby. “Around the ceiling fan, the two-by-fours are burnt in two, whereas everywhere else in the house, it is just heat damage, smoke damage, and water damage.”
The entire house now has to be stripped out on the inside.
Charles and Cassandra have three children between the ages of three and nine. They are all presently staying with relatives. They are receiving help from the Canadian Red Cross for emergency purchases of clothes, food, and other items at the local Riffs and Foodland in St. Anthony.
Cassandra says the family has already seen lots of community support as well.
“We’ve gotten a lot of messages and phone calls and we’ve had people here since seven this (Monday) morning, our friends helping clean out the mess,” she said. “And people from the community came and took all my kids clothes and are washing it right now to see if they can save some of it. (We’re) very grateful.”
She says the family did not have insurance on the home.