The day after his home was ravaged by fire, Cesar Melow stands across the street watching numbly as fire investigators dig through the charred rubble of what used to be his garage.
Melow and his family have lived in the Masters Drive home, which backs on to St. Vincent Street near Hanmer Road, for the last nine years. While reeling from the blaze, he stressed he's grateful no one was hurt in the fire, which started in his garage and quickly spread to the roof of a neighbouring home.
His wife and teenage son were home when the fire started, he said, but were able to get out safely. No one was inside the second home at the time of the fire which erupted shortly before 4 p.m. on Sunday.
“I was out on the motorcycle for a ride, and she was home with my middle son,” Melow said, adding shortly before the fire got going, his wife and son reportedly started to smell burnt plastic.
“It started in our garage and I guess spread throughout. I guess the wind was blowing towards the neighbour's house and ... it went from roof to roof. I am just glad everybody is OK," he said.
Melow told BarrieToday he’s been told it could take anywhere from nine months to a year before the family will be able to move back into their north-end home, which sustained significant smoke and water damage inside.
“From what we can see, from three feet and up, everything is just black; the walls are coming apart, the basement is flooded. All of the picture frames just melted right off of the wall from the intense heat,” he said. “We haven’t been upstairs, but we’ve heard because of the intense heat it was probably the worst.”
The family plans to stay at their trailer in Wasaga Beach while they search for a home to rent, he told BarrieToday.
“Instead of getting hotel rooms, that’s our comfort zone. We have food there and so we are there for now until we can rent a house - something big enough for the family,” he said, adding they are all still trying to come to terms with what happened.
“It wasn’t until we got back to the trailer and sat down when everything started to kick in about what actually happened,” he said, adding his 11-year-old daughter appears to have been the most shaken by the fire. “She called me this morning asking if I could get her doll.”
While they do have a place to stay for the time being, the family of five have lost everything, he admitted.
“We have nothing. Everything was in the house,” he said, adding he has already reached out to their insurance company as they will need to buy clothing and other personal effects.
Melow’s parents had also been staying with them while they waited to move into their new home at the end of the month - and a majority of their belongings, which had been boxed up in the garage, were destroyed.
While he grapples to come to terms with how they will begin to move forward, Melow told BarrieToday he is grateful for the support they have received from friends and neighbours.
“Everyone has been super nice, offering us a place to stay … and different ways to help. I am very grateful.”
Deputy Fire Chief Carrie Clark, who was at the Masters Drive home on Monday, told BarrieToday fire investigators were still digging through the damage to try to determine a cause of the fire, adding they hoped to be able to turn the home over to insurance officials later in the day on Monday, July 4.
