A family night of baking muffins almost became deadly for a Ponoka family whose home burnt down last week.
Len Lewis had just put some muffins in the oven to bake on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 2 when things started to take a turn for the worse. At about the same time baking started, Lewis turned on the furnace.
“A few minutes later, I started to smell something burning,” he said.
Over the next few minutes, the smell of burning started to increase but Lewis was unable to locate the source. While in the kitchen, Lewis said he could hear some sounds coming from the basement, but he thought those might be related to the furnace operating or the water conditioner system.
The situation was worse than he thought.
“I just happened to be looking at the register and suddenly the floor just went, whoomp! The whole floor just shook,” said Lewis.
Black smoke started to come out from the heat register and that’s when Lewis told his daughter to leave the house as quickly as possible. His wife Monica was reading in her bedroom with the door closed at the time. Lewis yelled at her to get out of the house as well.
He didn’t realize it at the time, but fire had most likely started spreading in the basement.
Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds
Lewis checked the basement door and all he could see was a thick black smoke. “It’s like looking into a can of black paint.”
Within a matter of minutes the house was filled with a thick smoke that had approximately three feet of clearance off the floor. In a home fire, smoke rises to the ceiling and Lewis said it took very little time before there was hardly any air close to the floor.
“You think of a fire and it’s going to be a loud roaring thing and things crashing and blowing up. It wasn’t like that,” said Lewis.
The family escaped outside to safety and called 911. While there, Lewis could see flames through the basement window and he realized one of his cats was still inside the house. Monica said she could see her cat crying for them and opened the front door. She took a few steps in and called for the cat, which she was able to rescue.
Shortly after she rescued the cat, the entire home was fully involved in flames. The reality of the situation had not set in until they could see the flames.
“I honestly didn’t think the house was on fire,” explained Monica.
The Lewis’s had one more cat that was assumed to have perished in the flames but was recently found. However, their daughter had a few other caged pets that did not make it.
Smoke alarm signal was late
It wasn’t until after they left the house that the smoke alarm was triggered.
That same day Lewis had taken down some of the smoke alarms to change the batteries. He had replaced one and had gone to the store earlier in the day to get extra batteries but had not had a chance to change them. However, it wasn’t until the upstairs was full of smoke that the alarm went off.
“You presume that it’s going to go off,” stated Lewis.
Fourteen firefighters from the Ponoka Fire Department (PFD) attended the scene to try and save what was left of the home. Fire Chief Ted Dillon said the call came in at 8:10 p.m. but crews were there until midnight before they left.
A relief crew of three stayed at the scene to ensure the fire did not re-ignite and then they released the home to the insurance inspector the next morning. Two tankers plus a utility truck were used to deal with the fire.
Monica said they were grateful to the department for the effort they made to save the home. “I think the fire department did wonderfully.”
Community rallies around the Lewis family
Support from residents in the area has been humbling. Complete strangers have come up to the family and offered money, clothing and help in a variety of ways.
On the night of the fire, a neighbour helped Monica get some needed toiletries and prescription drugs that had also been lost. Peter Lok, at Shoppers Drug Mart, opened his store after hours and got the necessary prescriptions for the family.
“It’s just been amazing,” said Monica.
Lewis said members of the community have gone above and beyond the call of help for his family and he feels Ponoka’s small town atmosphere is a factor in that help. They used to live in a city.
“Had we lived where we came from, it wouldn’t have been like that,” said Lewis.
On the night of the fire, a large truck was driving through the area but Lewis said he had to turn around because of the emergency vehicles. He mentioned in passing his phone was lost to the fire and the next day, without question or feedback, the driver purchased Lewis a new phone.
“He’s just a guy who I met because he drove by my house,” he explained.
While the insurance company works with the family to take care of the situation, the Lewis family is grateful no one was hurt. Lewis said until a home fire happens, a person can’t imagine the idea of losing family members.
This blaze changed his perspective. Lewis recommends every homeowner work an escape plan and test their smoke alarms on a regular basis.
The family is now trying to pick up the pieces and while they work closely with the insurance company they are getting back to a normal schedule. Lewis said if it wasn’t for the community support and their beliefs, he feels they would not have been able to manage the loss of their home effectively.
“I’m unscathed. I’m still employed. My family is still intact and healthy. Everything’s good,” concluded Lewis.