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Okotoks family who lost their home thankful for support

Bob and Carol Neish, and their son James, have been receiving overwhelming support from their community since their house was destroyed by fire on Oct. 10.
Bob and Carol Neish - Horizontal
Bob and Carol Neish at Sandy McNabb about a week before they lost their Okotoks home to a fire on the Thanksgiving weekend. (Photo Submitted)

An Okotoks couple and their adult son who lost their home in a fire during the Thanksgiving weekend have a lot for which to be thankful.

Bob and Carol Neish's Westland Gate bungalow caught fire at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 10 while the couple and their 30-year-old son, James, slept.

They were awakened by Chris Jardine pounding on the door after seeing orange flames rising from the back of the house. He was passing by on his way to hunt geese.

“Chris basically saved our lives,” said Carol. “He woke up my son, James, and James had to come downstairs to get us because we didn’t even hear Chris banging on the door. Even James put his life at risk coming down to get us.”

Carol, who spoke with Jardine for the first time on Monday, said she’s thankful for his vigilance.

Jardine told the Western Wheel that he noticed what he thought was steam while loading his truck for a hunting trip just before 4 a.m. As he drove slowly along Westland Gate he realized it was a fire.

“The whole back of the house was bright orange - that’s when I called 911,” he said. “While I was on the phone I got out of my truck and started pounding on their door. As (James) opened the door I could see the kitchen was on fire.”

Jardine then rushed next door to alert the neighbours.

When the Okotoks Fire Department arrived, Jardine left with the expectation that the house would be saved.

“I thought they were going to put the back of the house out and that was going to be it, but when I got done hunting and called my wife she said the whole house was destroyed,” he said. “I was shocked. I had no idea it was so bad.”

While speaking with Carol on Monday, Jardine learned that the couple didn’t hear him banging on the door as they slept.

“If their son wasn’t asleep on the couch I would have been pounding on the door forever,” he said.

Neighbours from both sides helped the Neishes, and a woman across the street brought clothing.

“We had no shoes on, nothing,” said Carol.

EMS transported Bob, Carol and James to their son Rob and daughter-in-law Kailin's house in Okotoks where they’ve been staying the past week.

Soon, family and friends showed up with gift cards, money and supplies. As word spread, businesses, churches and individuals also stepped in.

“We’re just so overwhelmed,” said Carol. “It was just unbelievable.”

The couple moved to the Westland Gate residence from Scotland in 2001.

“We just decided to immigrate," said Carol. "We’re from a small fishing town and the unemployment is really bad there.”

Carol, who works at T&T Disposal Services in Aldersyde, said her boss gave her family a phone, flowers and money. Magnum Cementing Services in Strathmore, where Bob works, set up a Go Fund Me Page to raise money for the family.

Their family in Scotland sent money and Okotoks resident Ashley Dymond spent a week collecting bottles, household items and clothing. She raised just under $2,000 in bottle donations, collected three bags of clothes and two locally-made quilts.

“I was not expecting the amount of responses that I actually did end up getting," said Dymond. "It's been super overwhelming and heartwarming. I didn’t realize how many people in Okotoks were that giving in a time of need.”

Dymond put a call out for bottles on Facebook after learning the family lost their home.

“I don’t like to see people struggle,” she said. “I just thought they might need a helping hand and definitely was not expecting to get as much money as I did for the family.”

Dymond dropped the donations off to the Neish family on Tuesday.

Carol said she’s thankful to Dymond and the many others who helped her family.

“We’re just completely overwhelmed with the support we’ve had,” she said. “We will never be able to thank everyone for what they’ve done for us.”

The family’s keys, wallets, passports and permanent resident cards were retrieved by firefighters the day of the fire. Their vehicles were not damaged.

Carol said they will need a place to rent for a year or two until they’re able to rebuild their home.

Okotoks Deputy Fire Chief Danny Freeman said the blaze originated outside at the back of the house, heating up the home's interior before the flames quickly moved inside with the help of a southwest wind.

Neighbouring houses on each side were also damaged. Freeman estimates damage to the three homes to be around $700,000.

Tammy Rollie, OkotoksToday.ca

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