It took just minutes from the time Vic and Sue Meyer awoke to screams that their barn was on fire to the full destruction of both the barn and another outbuilding.
The Meyers were asleep at their Buffalo Creek property early last Thursday morning when a passerby noticed flames and started banging on their door. Their daughter’s dog began barking at the commotion, which woke up the rest of the family.
“Our daughter threw our door open and said ‘someone is pounding on the door,’ then she saw the flames and just screamed ‘the barn’s on fire!’” Sue recalled.
As he ran downstairs to get his boots on, Vic saw one barn on fire. By the time he made it outside and across the property, the second barn was engulfed in flames.
“It came through there in five minutes from the time it caught, it was fully engulfed,” Vic said.
Crews from Forest Grove Volunteer Fire Department and 100 Mile Fire Rescue attended and extinguished the fire, with the use of six fire apparatuses.
While no official cause of the fire has been determined, the Meyers suspect it was an electric block heater in one of the barns that started the blaze.
It has been an emotional rollercoaster for the couple, who has lived on the property for 29 years, farming cattle and hay.
Numerous pieces of farm equipment, including three tractors, a stock trailer, irrigation equipment, tools, two travel trailers and dirt bikes were destroyed in the fire.
A few things were insured, but Vic estimates the total losses to be upwards of $100,000, not including the cost to rebuild the barns.
A neighbour has loaned the Meyers a tractor to use in the short term, so they can continue feeding their cattle for the next few weeks, but their first priority is to find a replacement tractor.
“The rest of it we can deal with as it comes,” Sue said.
The Meyers - who are no strangers to tragedy and heartbreak - said they are grateful no one was injured in the fire.
Their son, Chad Shapansky, was a volunteer firefighter who was killed in the line of duty nearly 18 years ago in Clearwater. Schapansky, 23, was responding to a fire at a vacant restaurant when officials believe he fell through the floor and became trapped in the basement.
Sue said she couldn’t help but think of Chad when the firefighters responded to last week’s blaze.
“When the firefighters came, I said ‘do not go close to that fire, because if someone loses their life, I cannot live with that,’” Sue said. “I just can’t say enough about the fire departments, they’re just absolutely amazing. I have a very special place in my heart for firefighters.”
The Meyers were also appreciative of the paramedics on scene to assist with any potential injuries.
“I just love seeing that, knowing the paramedics were there to look after them,” Sue said.
Friends and neighbours have reached out to offer support, the Meyers said, and their son, Jason, has set up a Go Fund Me to help ease the financial burden of their losses.
Accepting help is not easy for the couple, who said they “don’t do well” being on the receiving end of the community’s generosity.
“We’re the ones that are used to helping people all the time, we’re not used to other people having to help us,” Sue said.
The online fundraiser can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/meyer-farm-equipment-fire or electronic transfers can alternatively be sent to Jason at jschapansky@tru.ca
melissa,smalley@100milefreepress.net
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