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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Fire devastates 'nicest people'

Homeowner heads The North West Company, chairs United Way campaign Early-morning blaze causes $3 million in damage

By: Alana Odegard and Bill Redekop

Posted: 12/17/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

The Kennedy home on Shoreline Drive in Linden Woods is a 'total loss,' with damage estimated at $3 million. Inset: the two-storey home was a striking piece of architecture. Nobody was injured.

A family known for its charity and whose father heads this year's United Way campaign is now homeless after a spectacular fire razed their Linden Woods home Friday morning.

Flames shot six metres high from the home of Edward and Stella Kennedy, in the 100 block of Shoreline Drive, and hours later a thick, white plume of smoke could be seen from virtually anywhere in the city. Edward is the president and chief executive officer of The North West Company and chair of this year's United Way campaign.

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Edward Kennedy

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"They are the nicest people. It's the worst time of year for something like this -- around Christmas," said one neighbour.

One of the family's three daughters discovered the fire when she walked into the attached garage to start her vehicle at about 7 a.m. Investigators say a heater inside the garage caused the fire.

Four people were inside the house at the time. Flames spread quickly but the family and dog escaped unharmed. The couple have four children but one daughter is believed to not live at home and a son was away at hockey.

Late Friday, city police said the blaze caused an estimated $3 million in damage.

Trevor MacHutchon, 20, who lives several doors down, said he was dreaming of a terrible fire when his mother woke him up and told him there was a real fire on their street.

"I looked out and there were flames shooting out of the (Kennedy home) roof. The next house was starting to catch on fire and the car in the driveway was on fire," he said.

Fire destroyed two vehicles in the Kennedy garage as well as damaging the front end of a vehicle parked in the driveway. The neighbour's house on the west side suffered some fire damage, including broken windows. The cedar shingles on the roof of the Kennedy home were difficult to put out and were still on fire more than an hour after firefighters had arrived.

MacHutchon said the family is known for supporting charities, including his mother's annual gala ball to raise money to fight cancer. "They are huge supporters," he said. The family has lived on the street for more than a decade.

Susan Lewis, United Way president, felt it was time to rally around a family who have helped so many others. She said Kennedy has been involved in many early-morning phone calls, presentations and speeches for the United Way. He has worked hard to recruit volunteers and mentored and inspired others.

"His wife Stella has been involved in so many of the special events we hold. She's been at nearly all of them," Lewis said.

Fire platoon chief Ted Kuryluk said it was a large and difficult fire to put out. No one dared go inside the building. "It was totally engulfed (in flames) by the time of our arrival," he said.

"(Flames) went through the roof in no time flat," Kuryluk said. The house is "a total loss." Houses on the street sell in the $600,000 range, according to a recent listing.

Edward Kennedy was born and raised in The Pas and attended high school at St. John's-Ravenscourt in Winnipeg, according to his biography on the United Way website. He headed The North West Company's American subsidiary in Anchorage, Alaska, before returning to Winnipeg in 1997. An official with The North West Company said the family is "obviously devastated."

A single string of multi-coloured Christmas lights on a tree in the front yard was still lit in the morning, a stark contrast to the charred skeleton of the house a few feet away.

alana.odegard@freepress.mb.ca bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 17, 2011 B1

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