A family whose home was destroyed in a fire early Monday morning say they’d be lost if it weren’t for the people in their hometown of Hanley.
Residents in the Saskatchewan community, who came together to help the Grindheim family two years ago, when a father died, are again joining together to help the four — this time to help them rebuild the home.
“It’s amazing how they came together for us when Darren died, and they’re here for us again,” Shirley Grindheim said. “We can’t say thank you enough."
Shirley and her husband, Daryl, lived in the home with their two grandchildren, 15-year-old Josh and 13-year-old Abby.
The grandparents have been taking care of the kids since their son, Darren, the kids’ father, died of cancer two years ago. The children lost their mother a decade ago.
“Our mom also died 10 years ago, then it was our dad, and now it’s our house,” Josh said. “I guess some things in life just suck.”
Shirley and Daryl moved into the home, which was built by their son, after his death.
The family managed to grab a few belongings before running out of the house during the fire. They were sleeping when a neighbour knocked on their door, telling them their garage was on fire. The house went up in flames seven minutes after they left the home.
“I was across the street, just watching everything we ever owned, all of our memories, all of our life events, everything we’ve done, our whole house that we lived in, just go up in flames and smoke,” Josh said.
The town has since started a fund to help the family raise money to rebuild the home. More than $1,500 was raised within the first 24 hours after the fire, and donations were still coming in Tuesday.
“We’re a small community and we want to look out for each other and see if we can help any way we can,” said Darice Carlson, the town’s chief administrative officer.
Investigators were still on scene of the fire Tuesday. A cause of the blaze is not yet known.
