Furniture, home are needed
The family of seven burned out of their Fox Street home last week is still looking for a place to live — and furniture to put in it.
Elizabeth Durocher, her husband, Trevor Levitt, and their five children have been staying at her mother’s two-bedroom townhouse just down the street from the burned remnants of their home. It’s crowded, Durocher said, but they’re “making do.”
Donations of food, clothing and some furniture have been gratefully accepted and stored in the building’s parkade but must be removed by Tuesday because of a potential fire hazard.
“And as of last week, we were told by [building management] we could only stay at my mom’s for a month, so that gives us three weeks to find a place before we’re jumping from friend to friend,” Durocher said.
The family’s rented home was quickly engulfed in flames Oct. 19 after a fire started in a detached suite behind the house. They escaped uninjured but a man staying in the suite suffered burns to his arms and hands.
Durocher and her husband have been busy looking for an affordable townhouse to rent but have found they all allow only one child per bedroom — an impossible request for a family with five kids.
In the meantime, they still need furniture and clothing — especially for Trevor Levitt and the couple’s 12-year-old son, who is 5’5” and 120 pounds.
Durocher is asking anyone who’d like to donate furniture to call her at 604-464-6277 and she will make arrangements for picking up or dropping off any items (bedroom and living room furniture is particularly needed). Maple Leaf Storage has offered a storage space free for six months and friends with trucks are willing to help transport large items.
“And I just want to thank everybody,” she said. “My mom for giving us shelter, our neighbours Diane and Jeremy Edgar, School District 43 for taking donations at schools, and all the families who have helped us out.”
An account has been set up at VanCity Savings and Credit Union; donations to the Levitt Family Trust can be made at any branch under account number 114900.
spayne@tricitynews.com
