Community rallies around family devastated by fire

Dennis Lafreniere and his wife didn’t expect to celebrate 27 years of marriage Thursday in a Selkirk hotel room while reeling from a recent house fire.

The couple and their two daughters lost their home last Sunday in a raging fire that left nothing behind, but overwhelming support from multiple communities has kept them afloat.

“It’s devastating when you don’t have any clothes, any medication, all of that stuff, and it’s just so overwhelming the next morning. It’s just nasty,” Lafreniere said.

Investigators suspect the fire was caused by a fridge, freezer and battery charger that were all plugged into the same electrical line that got overheated. The house, located on Highway 59 between Selkirk and Libau, is a farmhouse built in 1943, and investigators think worn-out electrical lines also contributed to the fire, said Lafreniere.

The 66-year-old was on his way back from his niece’s house when he first saw the fire. He thought someone was invading his home when he first pulled up to the house after 7 p.m.

“I thought I saw something in the window and it was actually just smoke,” he said.

Lafreniere immediately called 911 and held onto hope the house could be saved, but as he watched the power lines in the house blow he faced the fact that nothing could be done.

“I was thinking about the memories and the contents, because we got a lot of history (in the house),” he said.

His wife’s mother recently died, and all her antique furniture, passed down over generations, is gone, as are other valued personal items.

The family is now staying at the Canalta Hotel in Selkirk, which is their only option because other places can’t accommodate their dog Ernie.

Lafreniere works at Charison’s Turkey Factory as a truck driver and is collecting workers compensation for an incident that happened before the fire.

His family also rents out the farm on their property, which was untouched by the blaze.

“When you’re at your saddest times and you’re getting phone calls and text messages from all these people, it’s just overwhelming support. It keeps you going.”

His 23-year-old daughter Janel, who has Down syndrome, has been especially shaken by the incident and is staying with her aunt.

Lafreniere, his wife and 21-year-old daughter Ciara are now trying to deal with insurance and start the process of recovering their lives.

He said while the situation is traumatic, the silver lining has been an incredible amount of support from the community.

“When you’re at your saddest times and you’re getting phone calls and text messages from all these people, it’s just overwhelming support. It keeps you going,” he said.

Ciara’s friends also bought $480 in clothes to donate and the Down syndrome community has also been showing lots of support.

Lafreniere is also an active member of the Thursday Night Riders, a local motorcycle club. The group has started an online fundraiser for him that has collected close to $18,000.

“The motorcycle community is a very tight-knit group and they really like to do good stuff for their brothers,” said David Jeason, who has been friends with Lafreniere for 40 years and is one of the organizers of the club.

He said the family does have insurance, however navigating it can be difficult and they wanted to give them immediate support.

tiago.resko@freepress.mb.ca