On Monday night we told you about the fire that ravaged the inside of a home of a mother and her 9 children. The structure wasn't destroyed but tonight that family is still out of a suitable place to live. Keith Swift today visited the family's Caesar Ridge home and spoke to the family's father.
James Thompson, Fire Victim
"The situation rough, abnormal; no money, no food, no wife."
That's how it has been for James Thompson and his family since Friday night when a fire scorched their home on Caesar Ridge Road. We showed you the dramatic video of the fire last night as fire fighters broke down the door and extinguished a fire on two mattresses. This afternoon - Thompson showed me the depressing aftermath. The yard has become their home. As you can see it is filled with clothes - which the family used to sell. But because of damage from the fire, most of it from just the heat, Thompson says you might as well call all these clothes, like this slip he showed me today, land filling.
James Thompson,
"Clothing, this is all cloth and dollies. I got three sacks of dollies burnt out, one hundred pound bags. Three sacked burnt out and that is over $1,000. The pants slip and half slip melted."
Keith Swift,
What do you guys need?
James Thompson,
"Help...financial...also all the mattresses burnt out, four mattresses are gone. The bed was an iron bed so the iron didn't melt."
Keith Swift,
Where have you guys been sleeping since the fire?
James Thompson,
"I am sleeping over there in the yard."
The sleeping arrangement since Saturday has been a bit better for two of their children who attend high school.
James Thompson,
"My two kids who go to school there sleep with a Chinese friend. The girl and her are in the same class in high school so I left her and my little baby there."
But Thompson and his wife want their children back home and for that they need help. Thompson says he has been offered help by the bank. He would prefer a handout.
James Thompson,
"The bank wants to give me a loan because I am afraid of a loan. I would prefer a donation because with the way business is going on right now if I get a loan, with this GST going down right now, the interest will be extra high so I might can't pay it and I'll have to put the house and lot at stake and I won't do that. So I won't accept the loan. I need some help."
Keith Swift,
If you could describe what the past four days have been like, what have they been like?
James Thompson,
"Extra rough, extra rough. For my daughter in high school I still have to find food for her everyday and my baby in primary school and I have no dough and sometime I don't eat."
It's a reality facing this father of ten who, instead of selling clothes, now spends his days watching the valueless remains.
The fire was reportedly set by one of Thompson's sons - a mental patient. Thompson said he wasn't at home when the fire started and so he cannot verify that. Anyone wishing to help the family can find them in their yard at number 26 Caesar Ridge Road.
