A Calgary family is struggling to rebuild their lives after a fire, started by an e-bike, destroyed the family home last month, in the community of Glendale.
Regan Burns said the nightmare began when she was suddenly awakened early in the morning of April 21.
“I just heard what i thought was like gunshots going off in the house,” said Burns. “When I opened my bedroom door, it was just glowing white. Like, I knew it was a fire but I’d never seen a white fire before and then just bang, bang.”
That’s when Burns said she saw the family’s e-bike on fire.
“There was three tornadoes coming off the bike and they were licking the ceiling — and the ceiling was boiling,” said Burns.
“It was really weird — the paint was just a cauldron bubbling, and the smoke, the smoke was high on the ceiling.”
Regan Burns said the fire that destroyed their home was started by an e-bike — and the smoke and flames were like a scene from Armageddon.
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Burns scrambled to collect her two children from their rooms.
Her daughter was frightened and screaming and her son’s door was locked, but she eventually managed to get it open.
“I said, ‘Anakin, there’s a fire, we have to get out of here, let’s go.’”
By then, said Burns, the smoke had turned black and was spreading throughout the house.
Regan Burns describes how she and her two kids scrambled to escape from the white flames and black smoke after she said the family’s ebike caught fire.
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“I’m yelling, don’t breathe, don’t breathe — I’ve never seen anything like that, like something out of Armageddon,” said Burns.
Eventually they escaped, along with one of their two dogs onto the back deck of the house, but the other dog — her son’s dog — was still inside the burning house.
“I thought I could go back and get the dog. I put one foot in there and one of those cells (from the e-bike battery) blew out that big window in the dining room,” said Burns.
Resigned that they couldn’t rescue the other dog — or their guinea pig — Burns and her family fled from their burning home.
Miraculously, when the firefighters arrived, they managed to rescue the remaining pets — but had to resuscitate their dog.
“Tony, our five-year-old guinea pig, he was right in the fire — the TV melted on top of him, and the firefighters got him,” added Burns.
“Willard, our king shepherd, he spent five days in hospital. He had some pretty bad lung damage, but he’s alive and we’re really happy.”
Miraculously, firefighters managed to rescue the family’s two dogs from the fire. Scruffles is OK but their other dog, Willard, suffered some serious lung damage.
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Unfortunately the family didn’t have tenant insurance, because they had just recently sold their home but were continuing to rent it.
Regan and her husband Shawn have been living in their garage and their kids are staying with friends while they try to find a new place to rent.
But it has been tough.
“You talk to somebody for a couple of days, you fill out an application — it’s gone. You go for a viewing, there’s five people, it’s gone. We have great references, proof of income, we have adequate money to secure a place and move forward. My husband has a good job. I just, I really don’t know what else to do,” said Burns.
Following the fire, Regan and her husband Shawn have been living in their garage and their children have been staying with friends while the family struggles to find a new place to live.
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So now their neighbours are stepping up to help. Some have bought new cots, pillows, blankets and groceries.
Others have donated cash, and the vet clinic that’s treating their injured dog has forgiven $1000. of the vet bill.
Brian Thomas, who has known Burns all her life, has also started a GoFundMe to help the family pay their vet bills and afford a new place to live.
“It’s been terrible to watch, and you know Reagan has been a real champion, but even she is kind of buckled under the you know the stress,” said Thomas.
Burns says the whole experience has taught her about the importance of community, and she’s thankful that people take time to care.
“It’s the crappy stuff in life, all the hard times you go through just makes the good times that much better,” said Burns.
“It’s barbecuing, watching my husband cut the grass, playing with the kids at the park — the little things, those are everything. It doesn’t have to be big for us. It’s a family and a good community.”