Tonight a family of six is homeless but lucky to be alive after they narrowly escaped from their collapsing home. It occurred this morning around 11:30 at the home of Shirley Gillett at 3040 Seagull Street. She was home along with her 79 year old grandmother, her 60 year old father, and her sister Sharon and her 2 year old son when she heard the house cracking. She told us what happened next still has her shaken and sent her father and grandmother to the hospital.
Shirley Gillett, Her Home Collapsed
“We were upstairs and we heard the thing start to crack and when I reached to the last step, the house dropped. In seconds the house dropped. We were on the verandah.”
Keith Swift,
What did you do?
Shirley Gillett,
“When I was coming downstairs it dropped, I couldn’t do nothing.
My granny and my dad and my sister and her son couldn’t get downstairs in time. My granny got a knock in her chest and my father got his back hurt, his head, and a scratch on his foot.”
Keith Swift,
How long have you lived in this house?
Shirley Gillett,
“About 20 or 25 years. We knew sometime it was to come down but we didn’t know exactly when it would drop. We were trying to get a next house but we didn’t get any assistance.”
Keith Swift,
How frightening was it for you?
Shirley Gillett,
“Very frightening and when I saw my dad dropping I got really frightened.
Shirley Gillett lives in the house along with her father, grandmother, and her three children. Her three children were at school. Her grandmother was treated for an injury to the chest and her father for an injury to the foot. Both have been released from the hospital. Shirley says they have been unable to get anything from inside the house so not only are they homeless, they also only have the clothes on their back. They have lived at the house for 20 years. Anyone able to help can contact the family at 623-7677.
