Not a single thing is salvageable at the Herntier family’s house. Everything Ana and Tony owned is now gone after a fire ripped through their St. Andrews home last Monday.
“I really thought we were dead. Everything was exploding around us. I don’t know how to explain it, it was so awful,” says Ana Herntier.
She and her friend Judy, who was visiting from out of town, woke up to find the home on fire. Smoke so thick Ana could hardly see her hand in front of her face.
“I found the window and I clawed and beat it and did everything I could to get out of there. When I finally did I got Judy close to the window, because shes’ afraid of heights. She wasn’t coming, I knew she wasn’t coming. I took the bedspread off the bed and I said here throw this out the window so we have a warm place to sit. And as she did that I took her and I threw her out the window,” explains Ana through her tears.
Terrified, they sat on the roof screaming for help.
“I said if I jump will you jump and she said yeah I’ll jump if you jump. But when I jumped, she didn’t come after me. She wouldn’t come down and I was screaming at the top of my lungs, please Judy, please jump down,” says Ana.
Help arrived and the St. Andrews fire chief was able to coax Judy to jump to safety. Both women sustained minor injuries.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but investigators believe it started in the garage.
Ana’s husband Tony wasn’t home when the fire broke out. He raced from work in Winnipeg when he got the call about the blaze.
The loss of the house is particularly painful with all the memories inside, specifically all of their grand-daughter Gracie’s belongings.
In March 2014, Gracie died tragically. The 7-year old who the couple raised, was mauled by two dogs outside a friend’s house.
“In the front foyer as you walk up the stairs we had her school desk,” says Tony. “Her school had given us her desk and all the grade two students signed it as well as all the teachers. So those are the hard things.”
Trying to remain strong, Ana and Tony find some solace in one simple explanation for all this.
“Grace was helping us where we didn’t have to pack up her things eventually. She was making it easier cause there’s nothing left for us to pack, just memories,” says Tony.
What they will also carry with them is the feeling of support from the community, which they’ve been surrounded by now after two tragedies, and the reason they opened up, to say thank you.
“Everybody has been so kind to us and helped us out a lot. And we want people to know how we feel. It’s just unbelievable, it’s overwhelming. One of the best ways to describe it is humbling,” says Tony.
Three separate funds have been started in Gracie’s name to support causes she was passionate about. The family is also continuing with a garage sale at the end of May. An annual fundraiser Gracie began, to support a music program she loved at her school.
The Herntier’s plan to rebuild on the St. Andrew’s property. For now they’re focussing on all they have to be thankful for.
“It’s one day at a time, we don’t have expectations. We make sure we don’t do that to ourselves. We look to the future that it will get easier. The memories will always be there,” says Tony.
Donations to the Gracie Herntier Fund can be made to through the Winnipeg Foundation wpgfdn.org
The annual garage sale will be held May 30 and 31st at the St. Andrews Community Club. Email graciesgaragesale@yahoo.com for details on where to drop items off.
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