‘I’m up the creek without a paddle’: disabled Winnipeg man heartbroken after fire destroys vehicle

WINNIPEG — A disabled Winnipeg man has been left stranded after an early morning fire destroyed his only means of transportation.

Francis Parisien was awoken early Monday morning to a banging on the back door of his Redwood Avenue home.

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Neighbours had called the fire department after seeing the man’s van on fire in the backyard.

“I see this glow outside and I look out (my) upstairs window and there it is all burning away,” he said.  “Smoke everywhere, flames everywhere… there was popping of wires.”

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Crews managed to quickly douse the blaze, but all that remains of Parisien’s car is charred remains.

“Now I’m without a vehicle,” he said while wiping away tears. “I won’t be able to get anywhere and being on a fixed pension, it’s not easy.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Now I'm without a vehicle," he said while wiping away tears. "I won't be able to get anywhere and being on a fixed pension, it's not easy."

A reality that has hit him extremely hard. Parisien suffers from severe arthritis and lives with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disease that includes chronic bronchitis.

“I can only walk about half a block and then I have to stop,” he said. “It’s (my) only means of transportation to get to hospital appointments.”

When you have COPD, your lungs are obstructed or blocked, making it hard to breathe. Parisien also relies on a cane to help him go the short distances he is able to walk.

“I'm up the creek without a paddle so to speak. It’s not very good. Not very good at all.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm up the creek without a paddle so to speak. It's not very good. Not very good at all."

READ MORE: Four firefighters suffer burns in massive Winnipeg fire

Winnipeg police said the fire was deliberately set. While this incident has been confirmed as an arson, it is just the latest in a string of suspicious blazes Winnipeg firefighters have been tasked to fight.

Forrest said arson is a cyclical problem that seems to increase in the spring when temperatures start to increase.

“People think its a victimless crime but (that) couldn’t be anymore away from the truth. It hits the handicap the hardest, it hits the seniors, it hits children, because those are the people that have the hardest time dealing with the traumatic events of fire,”said Forrest.

While no one was injured in this fire, Forrest said it’s a senseless crime that puts people’s lives at risk.

“Arson is the most dangerous type of fire we fight. Arsons are usually at night, there is usually an accelerant, so the fires spread quickly,” he said. “This is something we have been fighting for a generation in Winnipeg.”

Forrest is calling for more funding to be put into the Arson Strike Force and Youth Firestop Program.

“The root of the problem is a socio-economic problem in Winnipeg,” he said. “We need to get into the schools. We need to educate from kindergarten all the way up, that arsons are not a victimless crime. Arson kills people. They have a tremendous impact and we need to stop it.”