Apartment complex a write-off

Page 5

Smoke began billowing from the rear of Elizabeth Apartments in Prince Rupert at about 11 a.m. Nov. 10. Within an hour, flames engulfed large parts of the complex. By 5 p.m., the building was a write-off.

"I was inside the apartment by myself. I was getting ready to go the doctor when I looked out my bedroom and the flame shot out before me," said Clara Ridley, 55, who was sharing an apartment with her daughter, son-in-law, and their two young children.

Ridley, one member of the almost entire Aboriginal tenancy in the 44-apartment complex, said she needed to be led out of her apartment as she had become frozen with fear.

"I got scared. I couldn't move. By the time a lady came to get me, the flames were licking at the walls of my bedroom. She pretty much dragged me down the stairs, I was shaking so much."

Ridley lost most of her possessions, including a new TV and DVD player. What hurt the most, though, was losing "the jewelry I got from my mother before she died."

Provincial emergency social services and the Salvation Army spearheaded efforts to help the victims of the fire, but assistance also came the Friendship House, Nisga'a Local, service clubs and nearby villages. In four days, an estimated $15,000 in cash donations had come in from the community. A "fire store" was set up where donated clothing, furniture and household items could be dropped off.

About 10 days after the fire, the fire store announced that it had enough clothes and was now only accepting furniture and household and kitchen items. A number of fundraisers for victims are in the works.