15°c Clear
28°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Donations being taken for Gimli family after house fire
Greg Welch, left, with daughter Jayda and son Jordan. (FAMILY PHOTO)
The fire broke out at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday in Gimli. (RCMP HANDOUT)
The new year got off to a bad start for a Gimli widower and his two children after a cooking fire caused extensive damage to their rental home and sent two of them to hospital.
Greg Welch, 41, and his son, Jordan, 18, were taken to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg after the fire broke out at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. While they are recovering, friends, family and strangers are trying to help them start over.
"They’ve had a tough go of it," Ian Tarnowski, Welch’s brother-in-law, said in an interview. Tarnowski’s sister, Welch’s wife, died three years ago, Tarnowski said. She was diagnosed with cancer and died one month later.
Greg is now in the intensive care unit with burns to his shoulder and a fracture in his neck, said Tarnowski. Jordan is in critical condition also at Health Science Center with burns to more than 50 per cent of his body, he said. Jayda, 12, was not hospitalized but is scratched and bruised and resting at her grandparents home, he said.
Now they’ve lost their home and belongings, said Tarnowski. He said a fund is being set up at CIBC for the Welch family.
"We are trying to give this family a hand up when they need it the most," Tarnowski said in a prepared statement.
"We are looking for donations of any kind - big or small - from cash donations to gently used clothing to furniture or anything you can think of that you would need to start a life over again from scratch. When you have nothing every little bit counts."
Cash donations can be made to the Gimli CIBC branch in care of The Welch Family.
The Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner was contacted and attended the scene. Damage estimates were not available Wednesday, police said. The residence sustained extensive damages, police said.
History
Updated on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 10:37 AM CST: Story updated and new headline. Image added.
11:53 AM: Updated
3:16 PM: Updates with donations wanted.
Fact Check
Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
3:05 AM 0TORONTO - Half of Canada's First Nations children are living in poverty, triple the national average, according to a new ...
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Man convicted of drunk driving in Henderson pile-up
- Teen on train tracks from York Landing
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- California 'Night Stalker' serial killer Richard Ramirez dies at 53
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Portage Ave. stretch re-opens after Friday-night bomb scare
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Filipino singer Charice comes out as lesbian; Catholic official says she's in identity crisis
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Craig Ferguson adds second show
- Make it look natural; companies work to make packaged foods appear homespun
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Teens can join Let It Out Summer Rock Camp
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- City-wide average mosquito count drops
- Scientists meet to discuss weird British weather, say soggy summers likely for a few years
- New Flyer awarded Atlanta bus contract
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Priest kept silent about accusations against Storheim, court hears
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Jaimie Creasy becomes first woman to graduate from RRC with degree
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.