Bernadette Garnier O’Quinn.said it was a hell of a way to start the new year, with their house burning to the ground.
She and her boyfriend, Jim Wall of Flat Bay Brook, started their year with a devastating fire on the night of Jan. 1.
Garnier O’Quinn said she had been doing some early spring cleaning, straightening up around the house and doing some painting and had just completed her last room while her boyfriend was away.
She had gone to a small cabin located towards the back of their property and put away items she no longer wanted in the house.
Returning to the house later that night, a flicker caught her eye and seconds later she saw a big flame.
She ran to the front door of the house and opened it and black smoke came billowing out, along with her beloved dog Buddy. She managed to grab her purse, which was close to the door but that was all.
“I consider myself lucky to get Buddy out in the nick of time and that I wasn’t in the house when it started,” Garnier O’Quinn said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Wall, who was visiting his daughter Theresa Marinacci and his grandkids in Toronto, had a mixed reaction when he got the news – happy because Bernadette and Buddy were okay but shocked by the loss of everything he had there.
He cut his vacation short and came back home on Jan. 4.
The couple have been staying in the small cabin on the property, but Wall said it’s tough in the cramped-up quarters, especially since they don’t have electricity or running water and just a small wood stove for heat.
It was because of their current situation, needing lodgings and living expenses, that Marinacci started a GoFundMe page that can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/gn7fm-help-needed-to-start-over.
Garnier O’Quinn said while they have insurance on the house and contents, somewhere to stay and living expenses are an issue, so anything people can do to help would be greatly appreciated.
She said its difficult asking for help but that she has helped others through the years.
“That’s what we (Newfoundlanders) do, we always support things, and everyone tries to help somebody,” she said.
She’s now hoping the kindness of others will help ease their burden and that this year will get better than it started off.
