It's impossible to measure the shock Penhold citizens felt during the early evening hours of April 10 as they watched in horror as the Wild Rose Manor quickly turn into a complete inferno, and then collapsing in a heap.
In the timespan of just over an hour the lives of more than 30 people were turned completely upside down. But the rest of this small Central Alberta town of 2,500 citizens did not just sit down and count their blessings that it was not they who were homeless. They got into action. Within 90 minutes from the start of the fire the Penhold Memorial Hall was a beehive of frenzied compassion.
The doors of the hall, as well as the hearts of the community, were spread wide open. A rapid outpouring of generosity that has no equal comforted the citizens who had just lost everything, except for the clothes on their backs and frightened cats and dogs in their arms.
Citizens from every corner of the community brought mountains of clothes, blankets and bedding. They brought enough food and beverages that would have filled the needs of hundreds. No one had to sleep at the hall that night. The victims were either picked up by friends, relatives or neighbours. The Red Cross ably stood by to make sure the needs of all displaced citizens were met.
“I have a tremendous sense of pride for our community,” said Mayor Dennis Cooper. “When you see how much poured in the memorial hall in two hours, how the people of Penhold opened their hearts and their wallets and their cupboards for citizens in need. This showed how the community bound together to support one another.”
Meanwhile, at the fire scene dozens of firefighters, almost all of them volunteers from Penhold, Innisfail and Red Deer County, battled the blaze with complete professionalism, while Jim Pendergast, the town's fire chief, calmly and ably fielded all questions from reporters.
In the meantime, amidst the devastation Penhold's fire of April 10 has caused the community, there just might be some good that comes out of it.
Kerry Towle, the Wildrose MLA for Innisfail/Sylvan Lake, was upset to learn that the building, more than 35-years-old, had no sprinkler system. For Towle, it was a painful reminder of the deadly fire last January at Quebec's Residence du Havre seniors' home in L'Isle-Verte, a facility without a proper functioning sprinkler system.
“It hits home because I remember all those seniors that passed away in that facility for such a needless reason,” said Towle, mindful that current Alberta codes do not compel older buildings to have a sprinkler system. “It brings a broader question of what is our role is here as politicians and how far do we go to protect the general public.
“We could have had fragile people in there, people with wheelchairs,” added Towle. “We need to start have these conversations about homes that don't have a system and making sure anybody going forward in a multi-dwelling site are asking what are the requirements.”
For this week though, all citizens can be thankful no lives were lost. They can also be be grateful of the huge hearts in the Penhold community to rally so quickly for those crippled by this devastating fire.
However, Towle's “broader question” should never be lost or forgotten.
