Looters target family’s home

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This article was published 08/03/2010 (5885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FIRST, their uninsured house was destroyed by fire. Now, looters are trying to steal their few remaining possessions.

Lenore Jose, a relative, said the family is reeling following a blaze in the 100 block of Bannerman Avenue early Saturday morning. Dean and Raina Graves, along with their family of seven (Jose said a foster daughter was not home at the time of the fire), did not have house insurance and are now scrambling to protect whatever belongings they have left in the 128-year-old home.

Though what’s left of the residence is charred, Jose, Raina’s grandmother, heard looters are trying to get a peek at what’s inside.

"Dean said people are looking to get into the house now, trying to steal whatever is left," Jose said. "The family is just emotionally drained. They don’t know what they’re doing. They have nothing."

"I don’t know what they’re going to do."

Jose said people are taking things from the backyard, including children’s toys. The grandmother said a four-wheel quad that belonged to the 13-year-old son has also been lifted from the property.

That oldest son was involved in a dramatic rescue at the time of the blaze.

At about 3:55 a.m., patrolling Winnipeg police officers David Weisz and Ray Pubuaya noticed smoke and rushed to the corner of St. Cross Street and Bannerman.

They found the house in flames and Dean Graves trying to get his son, standing in a second-floor window, to safety. Together, the officers and Graves were able to encourage the teen to jump, and caught him in their arms.

The catch was "95 per cent clean," Const. Weisz said Saturday. "We caught him, kind of breaking his momentum. He kind of crashed into the snow."

The family, which included children between 11 months and 13 years of age, was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries but otherwise unharmed.

Fire officials estimate the damage to the house and its contents at $300,000. Jose said the family has struggled financially of late and isn’t sure how to proceed.

"I can’t even talk to Raina right now — she just is crying and crying and crying," Jose said. "She feels completely helpless."

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

 

— Staff