A Calgary woman is sharing a terrifying tale of surviving a fire that destroyed her home.
Diane Lacharite suffered first and second degree burns on her hands and face after she was lighting an ornamental candle with ethanol on the weekend.
“I poured the ethanol into the container and it blew up in my face.
“I grabbed my coat and threw it on my face trying to put it out and then I was feeling for the door and I ran down the hallway screaming for help,” Lacharite recalled through tears.
“All you can see is fire in front of your face.”
Diane was preparing their Falconridge home on Sunday for her dying husband who had just been discharged from hospital. He has stage four lung cancer and has opted for medically assisted dying.
The candle comforts him and she lit it just minutes before he was scheduled to arrive.
“He’s in the last stage of his life. When I saw him and he saw my face he started crying,” Lacharite said. “I have to be here with my husband. I will heal but I only have a few more days with him. He is my focus. I will look after me afterwards.”
Her daughter, Dawn Lacharite, said seeing her mom in hospital was traumatic.
When Dawn returned to the apartment suite to see what could be salvaged she realized the gravity of how bad the fire was.
“When I walked in all I could think about was, she could be dead,” Dawn Lacharite said. “That’s how bad it was. I’m so thankful she got out of it.”
The family cat didn’t survive the fire. Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help the family out in the short-term.