CALGARY – An oil worker who lost his home to the Fort McMurray wildfire this week says he is now getting help from his insurance provider.
John Bray arrived in Calgary Thursday night after spending three days on the road.
He was working at Suncor’s oilsands base plant north of Fort McMurray when he heard the city was on fire.
“My home was destroyed roughly about the same time I had my coffee break,” Bray said.
As he was driving south to check on his house in the neighbourhood of Waterways, his wife and three sons had already been evacuated to the north.
“By the time we got to Thickwood Boulevard, the flames were crossing the street behind us at Tower Road. We almost didn’t make it out of that area”, Bray said.
He spent the next three days on the move, walking and hitchhiking south on Highway 881 to Anzac before getting a ride to Red Deer and finally a bus to his brother’s house in Calgary.
Bray had called his insurance company but until he could get to an office in person, they said they couldn’t help with immediate expenses.
Once in Calgary, he went to the AMA Insurance claims centre and within half an hour, had a cheque for evacuation living expenses.
“Our adjuster had his file which he already established and then made an advance payment to John so he could leave our offices with a cheque in hand”, Peadar Mulhall with AMA said.
Bray says his next step is to see his family and then find a new place to stay until the damage to his home and vehicles is appraised.
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