James Lahey isn’t upset his Fort McMurray home was broken into during the fire – that’s because the intruders were a group of firefighters battling the blaze and they even left a note for him.
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But on May 31, he received a call from the RCMP telling him that there were signs of forced entry at his house in Stone Creek.
“I thought looters broke in,” Lahey said. “Obviously that’s a pretty crappy feeling.”
On Thursday, as he was driving back to Fort McMurray, he spoke again with the RCMP who told him the fire department was supposed to have called him.
What he heard next surprised him: members of a local fire department had broken into his house to rest.
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When Lahey arrived at his house, he found the front door had been fixed, though it still needs to be replaced, and there was a note taped to the door.
The note described what firefighters had been up against in his neighbourhood and how they weren’t able to leave the area but needed a place to rest.
“I imagined my place would be quite the mess. I pictured ash and dirt being all over the place but my place is really clean. It’s basically like I left it. There were a few random water bottles and cans of Red Bull but that was it. Obviously they were quite respectful of my home when they were in it,” he said.
“I wasn’t upset about it at all. It’s totally understandable given the very extraordinary circumstances.”
The note is signed “a group of grateful firefighters” and included the signature of a member of the Fort McMurray Fire Department who is also an EMT.
“They had quite a task to deal with there and, like they mentioned, fighting the fire for 48 hours straight and they only stopped to rest when they had it under control,” he said.
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Lahey said his house may not be standing had it not been for the efforts of the firefighters and he is grateful that his house was able to help them.
“It feels good to have been able to help in an indirect sort of way. They had quite a task to deal with there,” he said.
“I’m pretty grateful that my house is still there obviously and to be able to help in such a small way. It’s a very good feeling because …they’ve done quite a bit for our community.”
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