An 83-year-old B.C. man has been left homeless after the RV he was living in went up in flames in West Vancouver Tuesday night.
Pat Maxwell says her brother Robert was actually driving the vehicle on Marine Drive in the Dundarave neighbourhood at the time, and only escaped when someone ran up and banged on the door to alert him.
He’s been left with nothing but the clothes he was wearing, his wallet and his phone, she told Global News by Zoom from her home in Sooke.
“The motor home was his home, it wasn’t just a means of transportation. So when it went up in flames, everything went up, his whole life,” she said.
“He needs everything. He needs clothes. He needs bedding. He needs, you know, utensils for the kitchen and he needs his medications.”
Maxwell said her brother had bought the RV in recent years with plans to tour B.C. or make a cross-country trip to the Maritimes to visit his daughter.
When COVID-19 arrived those plans were put on hold, and he had been parking the vehicle on side streets in the Lower Mainland.
“It makes it kind of difficult, but it was just a decision he made and. I don’t know if it was the best thing or not,” she said.
Maxwell’s brother was able to find temporary space in a local shelter, she said. He’s recently had heart trouble and was determined to stay on the North Shore, where his doctor is, she added.
“I’ve maybe mentioned that he go into some kind of an assisted living situation now because I think he needs it,” she said.
“But he’s very afraid to go into that kind of situation because of the COVID, you know, and if he doesn’t get his shot right away, is he going to end up dying from COVID?”
Maxwell said her brother’s RV is covered by insurance, but that as an old vehicle mostly filled with personal possessions, she doesn’t expect him to get much for it.
She added that there has been an outpouring of support for her brother, including offers of clothing and blankets, but that he doesn’t have anywhere to put items.
She’s launched a GoFundMe campaign to help him get back on his feet.
“He’s very generous person. One of the things that he’s always done, he’s done it for years … he plays Santa Claus for children, you know, and especially children with special needs,” she said.
“He’s not a rich man, but he donates his time and he helps people out.”
West Vancouver police said the cause of the fire is suspected to be mechanical, and is not considered suspicious.