Neighbourhood rallies to help Kirkland family after house fire

KIRKLAND – Darren Coutain and his family are still trying to come to terms with what happened to their house.

What was on its way to becoming their dream home has now been reduced to charred pieces of what used to be.

“You can never imagine it could happen to you,” Coutain told Global News.

“The worst part is, I actually got here early enough to watch the house on fire burn down.”

On Tuesday morning, the Kirkland home was engulfed in flames after simple renovations went horribly wrong.

“We had some workers working on the roof and they had an accident. The roof caught on fire and it was uncontrollable, and that’s it, this is the result.”

Sixteen trucks and thirty fire fighters battled the blaze and thankfully, no one was hurt.

Now, picking up the pieces for the family of eight isn’t going to be easy.

The couple has two young children of their own and also take care of four mentally challenged adults.

Coutain explained that there are still unanswered questions.

“Where are my things? Can we get some clothes? But I’m trying to explain to them that they’re gone, they’re lost. ”

Neighbours have been very sympathetic and many have offered a helping hand.

Natalka Lee lives nearby and she’s organizing a block party on Saturday, August 17 in order to raise money for the devastated family.

“They’ve got a lot on their hands right now,” she noted.

“So we’re doing whatever we can to make things easier. That’s our goal to make things easier.”

The entire street will be closed off as the neighbours host garage sales, bake sales and other family-friendly events. The city has even agreed to provide tents and barbecues.

The Coutain family is overwhelmed by the support.

“When something like this happens, that’s when you really see the generosity of the community.”

A silver lining for family walking away from everything they’ve lost, as they prepare to rebuild from scratch.