Innisfailian and daughter fill trailer for Fort Mac

Andy Laing knows all about fire disasters.

He had family members in Slave Lake in 2011 when a massive blaze turned their lives upside down.

When the even larger Fort McMurray blaze blew up this past week and displaced almost 90,000 citizens, he knew he had to do something.

“I know they (family members) lost everything, their homes too. They didn't have time. It was just like Fort McMurray, five minutes to grab whatever you could and go. I thought, ‘hey, why not try and help out,” said Laing.

A friend donated an 18-foot trailer and he then got hold of Jeffrey Verhaeghe, sales manager at Fourlane Ford, and asked if he could lend a hand for his idea. Verhaeghe and his colleagues did not hesitate for a second. It was a big go.

“They were awesome. They (Fourlane Ford) donated a truck so I could pull the trailer. We went from there, advertising on Facebook, sent out some letters in town and now we are getting right full,” said Laing whose initiative began on May 5.

“The response has been really good, especially after Jeff went on his website and Facebook and spread the word around and it took off. It was slow yesterday but today it has been really busy,” said Laing, who set up his trailer on the west side of the dealership lot and was helped by his 11-year-old daughter Shyan. “I am hoping to be gone early tomorrow (May 7) morning and we are going to head to Lac La Biche with it.”

By the afternoon of May 6, the trailer was two-thirds full with food, clothes, water and various other supplies – and folks just kept coming.

“We are just helping out For Mac,” said Kacey Jackson, of Delburne, who came to town with family members and dropped off a donation.

Verhaeghe said word of the donation drive spread quickly throughout the community after he put up details on his website and Facebook.

“You get that from social media and word of mouth from people. We had some guys go down to the grocery store to buy some stuff, and people were asking, ‘what are you doing?' And the next thing you know we have a half dozen people coming out of the grocery store with extra stuff,” said Verhaeghe.

“The community is coming together to help communities in need is what makes who we are, right?,” he added. “That is what makes Alberta Alberta, and the community as a whole.”

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