It’s been a stressful four months for Mark Oostlander and his wife Kendall since the morning she woke up in a burning house after he had left for work, but in 72 hours their friends and neighbours in Cremona will put the finishing touches on their new home.
The “72 Hour House Build” – from 6 pm Friday to 6 pm Monday – was the brainchild of developer Tim Davidson, a friend of the family who goes to the same church as the Oostlanders and happens to also run Timko Developments in Cochrane. Calgary’s Renovation Room is also involved.
Once the idea was hatched, the Cremona Country Fellowship Church got involved in spreading the word, and the Home Hardware in Cremona pitched in as well.
Oostlander seemed a little overwhelmed around 4 pm Friday when The Eagle showed up, and trucks were pulling in with materials as men in tool belts were barking out orders already.
He said insurance was paying for the rebuild, but they were still seeing some contributions.
“Anything that’s left over will be given to charity,” he said.
Atco donated tents for workers to have a place to escape the elements and have a coffee or a bowl of chili.
He said they probably had enough electricians and carpenters already, but if anyone with drywalling or painting experience showed up on the weekend, they’d probably find work for them.
Oostlander went to work in Springbank around 7 am one day late in August, when his phone rang.
“I got a call from my wife, saying the house was on fire,” he said.
She had woken up to see what the dogs were barking at.
His older boy had run out of the house and went back in to grab his younger brother.
He drove home as best he could in rush hour traffic and found the Carstairs fire department had responded, but it was too late.
“By the time they got here it was pretty much gone,” he said.
Oostlander said Davidson and other members of the church hatched the plan to rebuild the house in 72 hours.
“I didn’t really believe them at first,” he said Friday.
There are 25 contractors working around the clock on the house, and volunteers on top of that. It’s a beehive of activity at 30051 Highway 22, just on the southern outskirts of Cremona.
Workers will build the roof on the ground, then lift it on in sections.
“The church is putting on a chili cook off Monday night,” he said with a smile. “We’re having burgers tonight.”
He said Tim Hortons from Sundre, Carstairs, and Olds were bringing coffee.
“There’s a lot of people coming together to make this happen,” he said.
Ooostlander had to pause to gather himself before explaining how it all made him feel.
“I’m pretty amazed at the support from the community. You don’t realize how many people are behind you until something like this happens,” he said. “People just come out of the woodwork from everywhere, wanting to help.”
