PENHOLD – The people of Penhold have rallied together to help the families in the wake of last week’s devastating fire.
The fire on Feb. 12 destroyed two mobile homes and left two couples homeless.
Penhold IGA began collecting cash donations for prepaid cards to help the families buy food and necessities.
"I think we’re above $1,000 now,” said Richard Knebel, owner of Penhold IGA. "People are coming in and giving whatever amount they feel comfortable with. We’ve seen people give five, 10 or 20 dollars.”
Support from the town has been amazing, he noted.
"There’s been a lot of people coming to step up, as far as I’ve heard, and donate things like clothing,” said Knebel. "When you’re in a smaller community and you hear of something tragic like this, people (may) know the victim or know someone who knows the victim, so it’s usually very close to home.
"They all tend to help pitch in,” he added, noting the total amount raised will be split evenly between the two couples.
Late Monday afternoon several families were evacuated from the Penhold Estates Mobile Home Park after a fire broke out in one trailer and spread to a second.
Gary Kool, his mother Sue and daughter Shayna, live two doors down and were one of the families evacuated. They spent the evening at the Penhold Regional Multiplex with their two cats.
"When I saw it at 5 o’clock the fire was coming out from underneath the rafters and between the rafters and the wall on the east side,” said Kool. (The people at the multiplex) were kind enough to give us some french fries and some juice boxes. There’s also some games set up for us and colouring books,” he added.
"One lady went home to get a dog carrier so we can bring our cats inside.”
Penhold mayor Mike Yargeau spoke to media during a break from a council meeting. The mayor received updates from the Penhold Fire Department throughout the evening.
"As of now we have two trailers that have been destroyed by the fire and half of the trailer court is without power,” said Yargeau, noting several units in the area close to the fire were evacuated.
The town set up an evacuation room for families at the multiplex that evening and called in several Red Cross workers to assist with the situation.
"We set up a reception centre for those evacuated residents to come, get out of the cold and if they need any assistance we can get them the resources they need,” added the mayor. "We do have Red Cross coming out to help some of the displaced families.”
Kool said he feels for his neighbours and understands what the families are going through after his own home burnt down several years ago in Edmonton.
"It’s hard. We went through that three or four years ago,” said Kool. "You lose everything. All your papers, toys, clothes, furniture. It’s tough. You got to start over.”
Richard Knebel, owner Penhold IGA
"When you're in a smaller community and you hear of something tragic like this, people (may) know the victim or know someone who knows the victim, so it's usually very close to home."
