An Elder from Fort Simpson is thanking the community for its support after she lost her home and all her possessions in a fire.
Martina Norwegian says the house that burned down on Tuesday has been in her family since 1969.
“We all grew up there,” she said of her six siblings.
Norwegian was in Yellowknife at the time of the fire. She said when she left her home last Friday, she didn’t expect it to be her last time closing the front door.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said of receiving the phone call informing her about the fire.
Upon hearing the news, Norwegian immediately drove back to Fort Simpson, hoping the home would be salvageable.
“I didn’t think it was so bad when I saw the pictures and I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just a deck on the front wall.’ But when I came home on Tuesday night, I saw the whole house is gone,” Norwegian said.
She says the grief of the loss comes in waves as she remembers the various sentimental objects that are now gone. This includes a beautiful moosehide outfit, leatherwork from her mother, jewelry, family portraits and artwork.
“Just so many gifts that are priceless, that are irreplaceable,” she said. “I had things of my mother, she died 25 years ago, and I still have so much stuff in there. This is a family home so everybody has things in there.”
The disaster comes as the community of Fort Simpsons continues to deal with the aftereffects of the devastating flooding that hit in May. Norwegian says although her house wasn’t affected by the flooding, she was holding possessions for a relative whose home was flooded.
Now all those possessions, mainly clothes, are gone.
A tight-knit community
But Norwegian said the outpouring of support has helped her through the difficult time.
“The calls, the emails, the visits, and just the outpouring of care and concern. I’m so thankful,” she said. “Always being the caregiver, it’s really hard to be the one that needs the help.”
Her daughter-in-law Laurie Nadia has organized a GoFundMe for Norwegian.
“After the fire people were asking what they could do and contacting Martina immediately offering things like beds and furniture and clothing, and it was overwhelming,” Nadia said. “As much as we appreciate those donations until she has a permanent place to live, we don’t have a place to store those things.”
She says she started the GoFundMe so Norwegian can have the financial resources to purchase her own things until the insurance comes in.
Anyone looking to donate gifts can contact Nadia directly.
She echoed Norwegian’s sentiment about the generosity of the community.
“Fort Simpson’s been through an awful lot with the floods just two months ago. And now this. So we just appreciate it, we know that everybody’s already tapped out, but Fort Simpson is such a supportive community,” Nadia said.
Also, Norwegian says she still holds onto her faith.
“It’s my faith that’s keeping me together, knowing that the Lord is carrying me at this time, and that’s a comfort in itself. And I just give that out to other friends who are hurting,” she said.
A housing shortage made worse
This also comes shortly after another home in the community burned down.
Mayor Sean Whelly said the community has been experiencing a housing shortage long before the fires and floods.
“In the last two months, we [had] two homes burn down in Fort Simpson. And they haven’t built two homes in Fort Simpson in the last five years,” he said.
Whelly said before the flooding there were over 120 homes in need of serious repair, from issues such as mould, no running water and no electricity.
As the warm weather continues in the Dehcho, he fears wildfires could be the next tragedy to hit the community.
The RCMP said in a press release it is investigating the cause of the fire at Norwegian’s home and so is the fire marshal. In an emailed statement the fire marshal said it has not yet determined the cause and origin of the fire, but more details will be available as the investigation continues.
The GoFundMe has raised $5,660 as of Friday afternoon.
