Vernon man left homeless after apartment fire

VERNON – A Vernon apartment building was evacuated early Saturday morning when a fire broke out in one of the suites. One tenant, Wesley Reinitz, lost his home and all of his possessions.

“I’ve never been homeless before but now I’m homeless and that’s scary,” he says.

The fire broke out shortly after 1 a.m. Reinitz says he was woken up by the smell of something burning and quickly realized there were smoke and flames coming from a closet in his apartment. He ran upstairs to a neighbor’s place for help.

“We got woke up by somebody hammering on the door hollering about a fire,” says John Alm, Reinitz neighbor.

The apartment building is in the 3600 block of 27 Avenue and everyone was evacuated safely. Vernon Fire Rescue says while the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but it doesn’t appear to be suspicious.

“If the fire department weren’t to have come as quick as they did, we could have been faced with a major disaster,” says Alm.

Alm says he and his wife won’t be allowed back in their apartment for a week because of smoke damage, but they aren’t too worried because they have insurance. Unfortunately, Reinitz doesn’t have that same peace of mind.

“I just hope some people can help me so I can figure out what to do next,” says Reinitz.

He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to go back home, leaving him trying to figure out what to do. At the same time, he’s grateful that everyone, including himself, is okay.

(If you would like to help Reinitz, you’re asked to contact him directly at 250-558-0839)