Diane Pinsonneault and her partner Olivier Brais had just put up the curtains in their new Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby home when they smelled a slight odour of smoke.
"There wasn't any smoke, just a little smell. We started looking for the source but we couldn't find it. I called a friend who is a firefighter to ask his advice", explains Mrs. Pinsonneault.
A few minutes later, we heard a bit of a crackling sound at the base of the chimney, but it is only when we looked outside that we realized the scope of the danger: "We saw smoke coming from the corner of the house. In the short time it took to dress the kids, the kitchen wall was burning hot and the floor was cracking", remembers Mrs. Pinsonneault.
Structural fires are as sneaky as they are dangerous. You don't necessarily see dense smoke, which makes them very hard to detect. This also explains why the smoke detectors did not alert the Brais family before they had all left the house. It took 39 firefighters to contain the blaze. "Your fire gave us a run for our money", the Fire Chief admitted to the couple who watched the destruction of the house they had dreamed of for so many years.
In total shock, at first, Mrs. Pinsonneault refused the help offered by the Red Cross: "In our minds, the Red Cross helps people affected by disasters in Haiti and around the world, but we forget that it is also here for us, in Quebec", she confided. Later, realizing that the assistance would be very useful to avoid having to invade her family and friends with three kids, she changed her mind. Once the call went out, Red Cross volunteers quickly arrived with blankets, hygiene kits and vouchers for hotel nights and meals for the entire family.
"We really appreciated the help because it allowed us to be all together in a hotel room and quietly recover from the emotion as a family. Even though we had insurance, it takes a while to settle all the paperwork. Thank goodness the Red Cross was there for us."
The Brais' eldest son, Isaac was also honoured by the Bromont Fire Department. They gave him a laminated photograph that says "I knew what to do". Indeed, while his parents searched for the source of the fire, Isaac insisted on getting out of the house as soon as possible and helped his little brothers get dressed. A wonderful "big boy" attitude that makes his parents very proud.