A mother fighting stage four cancer is trying to rebuild her life after a fire destroyed her rental home in Gibsons March 7. Although she and her 17-year-old son escaped the house without injury, the fire consumed the teenage boy's room and smoke damaged the rest of the household contents beyond repair.
Tina Brown was up late that night cooking a turkey that had been given to her the day before, following a spiritual healing ceremony meant to help rid her of the cancer she is battling. She decided to start cooking the bird at 6 p.m., which resulted in a late dinner at about 9:30 p.m. that night.
"Normally I would not be up that late because I have been very tired and I've been trying to rest as much as possible," Brown said.
But the late night dinner with her son and boyfriend meant the trio was still up at 10 p.m. when they heard a sound they thought was someone coming in through her son's room, which is a converted garage.
"It sounded like someone was crashing through the back door of the garage," Brown said.
When her son went to investigate, he saw smoke billowing out of the room and realized a fire had started in the garage/bedroom.
"I went to look and there was this big plume of smoke that came at me," said Brown. "We all started screaming and running different directions. I ran upstairs to try to find the cats, but the smoke was filling the room. I had to feel my way down the stairs."
Within minutes the garage was fully engulfed in flames that were shooting outside and threatening to catch her van on fire.
"It started burning the van and there was an explosion," Brown recalled.
She, her son and boyfriend escaped the house without injury and called the fire department, which quickly put out the blaze. But when the smoke cleared Brown realized all her belongings were lost either to fire or smoke damage.
"I only got out with my pajamas on basically," she said.
Brown is now looking for a new place to live with her teenaged son and the pair are in need of everything from clothing to furniture to household items.
Brown's friend Aaron Harrison has set up a Facebook page asking for donations for the family, as well as a trust account at the Sunshine Coast Credit Union. To find the page on Facebook search Gibsons House Fire Victims Need Community's Help.
Brown is well known in the community for her volunteerism and work with foster children. Harrison got to know her when she took in his brother as a foster child.
"She is a good person and she has done a lot to help other people and I just felt motivated to help her out now," Harrison said.
If you would like to help by donating household items, furniture or clothing to Brown and her son call Harrison at 604-740-1789.
