The Samuels family lost their home on Friday.
It is the second fire in Kitchener to claim a house this year and the fifth house fire connected to the Creston Valley in the past month.
Tanisha Samuels shares the events before discovering the fire, forcing her to evacuate her family.
“I started smelling smoke five to ten minutes after my dad left with my (youngest) son and my brother.”
Samuels says she initially thought her brother had started a fire in the downstairs fireplace. However, after seeing smoke billow from her brother’s room, she found the real source.
“It’s really hard to talk about that,” Samuels details the quick decision making that followed. “I saw the mattress was on fire. I saw everything just up in flames. I ran upstairs and screamed at my niece. I told her to get out.”
After making sure that her older son and her niece were safely out of the house, Samuels attempted to return to the basement but the smoke and flames were overwhelming. She says she attempted to open the downstairs door but it was locked. Escaping the blaze, Samuels then ran down the street to call for help.
“There was no stopping it. By the time we got to the bottom of the hill the whole middle floor was up in flames.”
Samuels says she is most certain a base heater caused the mattress to ignite.
She had just recently moved from Lethbridge to live with her parents, Tim Mund and Mary Samuels.
All of her family including her brother Joshua and sister Shae are staying at their neighbour’s house for the time being.
“The day of the fire she put a roast in, put the potatoes on and fed our whole family. Let us stay in her home.”
The house was insured and the claim is being currently being evaluated according to Samuels.
A GoFundMe account has also been set up by family friend Donovan Osterreicher. To support the Samuels, follow this link.