As the investigation into what caused a fire that destroyed a family-run motel in Bashaw, Alta. continues, the small town is coming together to support the victims.
Emergency crews were called to the Bashaw Motor Inn at around 1 a.m. Sunday. When they arrived, the building was engulfed in flames.
“It’s a very hard ordeal to go through,” Lt. Dorien Dejonge, a volunteer firefighter with the Bashaw Fire Department, said.
“It’s a very hard experience. Very hard because everybody knows everybody.”
The remains of one person were found in the debris and three other people were taken to hospital. One person has since been released from hospital. A family of four who owned the motel lived there, along with two other men.
READ MORE: Body found in Bashaw motel fire; RCMP treating fire as crime scene
Mayor Penny Shantz said the Tiwana family ran the Bashaw Motor Inn and made the motel a cornerstone of the town.
“I came down here … and it hit me. I was in total shock to see that the building is no longer there,” Shantz said. “Of course, that can be replaced, but it will impact the lives of the ones that did live here.”
“They’re part of our community,” Shantz said.
RCMP are investigating the fire as “a crime scene until proven otherwise.”
“It’s a huge loss to the whole community,” Dejonge said. “A huge loss.”
She said everyone is doing what they can to help the family.
“Everybody is rallying. There’s a GoFundMe page set up … Also, the Bashaw Fire Department is doing a food bank drive for our local food bank and also taking cash donations for the family at the same time.
“We thought we would try to raise some funds for the family too as they have lost everything,” Dejonge said. “They’ve lost their home, their business, their belongings.”
Bashaw resident Jackie Northey started the GoFundMe page.
A bottle drive has also been organized by those who know the Tiwanas through school and sports.
“They’ve been such a crucial part of the school, actually,” Sarah Wray said. “Both boys grew up in the school and they’ve been helping our kids with things like Mini-Dunkers and track and field so they’ve been really good mentors.
“This is our way of giving back and making sure that we support them as a community.”
Wray said one of the Tiwana boys has worked with her son through the school and describes him as a “community leader.”
Wray said there was already a bottle drive in the works as a team fundraiser, but when they heard about the fire, members decided the money should go to the family instead.
“I think that’s really the nature of the community. What we hope to teach them is to rally together and help people when they need it,” she said of the goal for the bottle drive. “The second thing is to obviously garner as much support for the family as we possibly can.”
READ MORE: Overnight fire destroys Bashaw Motor Inn: 3 people sent to hospital
Police tape still surrounded the area Tuesday, two days after the blaze. Several RCMP members spent the day combing through what is left of the motel and a special tactical operations unit has been brought in by the RCMP to help with the case.
Investigators are now looking into everything, including a cause of the fire and possible motive.
An autopsy is scheduled for later this week to identify the human remains and determine a cause of death.
The Bashaw Motor Inn is located off Highway 53 near Highway 21.
Bashaw is about 136 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
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