Fire Friday morning in Charlottetown has left a Columbian refugee and her eight children in need of a new home.
The mother was on the first floor with three of her children, ranging in age from three months to four years old, when a fire started on the second floor. Her remaining children were in school.
The mother and the three children escaped injury. They were taken in at the neighbouring Purity Dairy as firefighters battled a smoldering fire in a duplex on Edward Street.
The Canadian Red Cross has arranged emergency hotel accommodations, meals and clothing for the woman and her children.
The family is taking their latest setback in stride, says Catherine Mullally, co-chair of the refugee committee with St. Pius X Parish that sponsored the family to be able to escape the turmoil in their home country.
“They are so calm,’’ said Mullally. “The children think it’s a wonderful adventure to be in the hotel.’’
Cenaida Ortiz, 32, came here in April with her children, leaving behind a 17-year-old son and her second husband. Her first husband is believed murdered in a country where drug lords wreak havoc on innocent citizens.
Mullally says the mother and her family have been adapting well to life in a foreign country.
“They’re a delightful family,’’ she said. “They have a good mother…Our biggest challenge has been to help them catch up with the language, so we have a lot of tutoring going on.’’
In fact, a tutor was in the house with Ortiz and three of her children when the fire broke out Friday morning.
Charlottetown fire inspector Winston Bryan says the cause of the fire appears to be an unattended lamp left on that ignited bedding.
Charlottetown Station 1 Fire Chief Moe Sherry says bunk beds and a single bed in the same upstairs room caught fire sending smoke through the second floor.
Firefighters quickly contained the fire after getting a call around 9:45 a.m.
Mullally says the duplex unit is not expected to be habitable for at least six to eight weeks.
So the priority now is to find the family another place to live. Also, a number of personal items need to be replaced. Clothes, mattresses and other possessions lay soaked and charred in a pile outside the duplex.
Ortiz did not have tenant insurance.
Mullally knows she can count on parishioners at St. Pius X to rally behind the family. They have already opened up their purses, wallets and hearts in helping the family initially settle in Charlottetown.
“The people from our parish donated almost everything that was in their house,’’ she said.
“Our parishioners have been very generous.’’
For months, three cars have been sent to Ortiz’s home every Sunday to gather the woman and her family to bring them to church to participate in the service. The refugee committee also helps with shopping and other needs that may arise.
“I think they must have felt overwhelmed when they came first,’’ said Mullally.
“They are grateful and they are very pleasant and they are patient.’’
Mullally says any help from the public to assist this family in replacing furniture, clothing and other items lost in the fire, can call Helen at 566-5456, Blanche at 628-6980 or Catherine at 892-0881.