PETROLIA – Laura Hodgins was starting to wind down Wednesday night when she heard what sounded like fireworks.
“I’m like, ‘It’s way too early for fireworks,’” she recalled Friday afternoon.
The 39-year-old Petrolia resident opened the blinds to the sunroom in their apartment above Needham-Jay Funeral Home – she’s the facility’s funeral director – and saw a small fire. Hodgins and her husband, Jason, tried to douse it with a small fire extinguisher and buckets of water.
“It just wasn’t enough,” she said.
Jason ran to get another fire extinguisher from the ground level.
“By the time I got to the top of the stairs I couldn’t see the stairs behind me so it was like, we’ve got to turn around,” he said.
The couple grabbed seven-year-old son Peter and 16-month-old toddler Indiana and fled to the street. They watched from there as their home, and most of their belongings, went up in smoke.
“And everybody’s watching,” Hodgins said, recalling the fishbowl-type feeling. “And then (co-owner) Roger (Mailloux) got to the scene and just – overwhelmed with everything.”
Fire officials pegged the damages at $400,000, but there were no injuries as the family fled to safety. No cause has been determined as of Friday, Petrolia’s fire chief said, but it’s not considered suspicious.
“it started in the sunroom, but how? I have no freaking clue,” Hodgins said.
The fire was an overwhelming feeling, Hodgins recalled – but so too was the response over the next couple of days. Friends, neighbors, and complete strangers have been handing them cash, gift cards, and sending e-transfers to help with their recovery. A family friend launched a GoFundMe page – available at bit.ly/3zVMRPq – and on Friday Dips Soft Serve, a Petrolia-based ice cream truck, set up shop in the town’s Home Hardware parking lot from 1-5 pm, with all proceeds going to the family.
“We live in the best community,” the ice cream company said on Facebook. “We thank you for your kindness, and for helping Laura, Jason, Peter and Indy out.”
“I’ve never experienced this kind of sense of community or kindness in my life,” Hodgins said. “It’s just amazing.”
Hodgins broke down crying as she hugged Home Hardware owners Jason and Lana Mullins, also a former Needham-Jay employee, who helped pay for the fundraiser. The hardware store has also been collecting gift cards donated by customers on behalf of the family.
Hodgins has worked for the funeral home since 2015 and the family has lived in the apartment since December 2018, when they sold their home to pay for therapy for Peter, who’s autistic. Hodgins, her husband, a 45-year-old laborer with LiUNA Local 1089, and their children have been staying at her mom’s house in Sarnia since Wednesday night.
They’re hoping to recover some items, such as handmade wooden furniture her late father made, from the apartment. But there’s little hope.
“We tried to recover some Angry Birds toys for our kids and we scrubbed them and they still smell really bad,” Hodgins said. “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to recover much of anything.”
The original house was built in 1901, but had multiple additions, including the apartment, built over the decades. Co-owner Steve Mailloux said he couldn’t attach timelines to the repairs, which could take months