A fire that damaged three houses in Old Ottawa South has led to a fundraising effort by the community and Carleton for those involved, including Carleton students and a university official.
Firefighters were called to 128 Hopewell Ave. around 7:45 p.m. July 14, according to Marc Messier, the public information officer at Ottawa Fire Services. He said that the exact cause of the fire was unknown.
“We do know that the fire started in the grass area, in front of the home, and then it basically spread to a tree, and up to the side of the home and into the home,” he said.
From there it spread to a neighbouring home, and damaged the side of a third house through radiating heat.
Messier said the damage was estimated at around $1 million for all three homes, with about $350,000 damage done to the house where the fire started, and $150,000 for the contents.
The Old Ottawa South community quickly came together to help those involved, said Christy Savage, the executive director of the community association.
“It really started within the community itself. There were a group of neighbours and people on the street who were interested in raising funds,” she said.
One of the first places where people could drop off money and goods was Stella Luna, a gelato café in the community. Tammy Giuliani, the owner of the shop, said that she was approached by a person in the community about the fundraising.
“I got a call from one of the people who lives across the street, and [he] asked if we wouldn’t mind if we became a sort of central spot for people to come by and drop off money,” she said, adding that about $500 had been collected through their donation box.
Savage said the community association had raised about $1,500 in individual donations and $2,300 through a fundraising barbecue hosted by a girl’s summer camp.
Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) also got involved with the fundraising, said CUSA president Alexander Golovko.
“We’d seen the media coverage of it, and a little later through my board of governors position we found out that one of the university officials was affected,” he said.
“We heard that students were involved as well, so we decided to get involved from there,” he added.
According to Golovko, CUSA has raised a few hundred dollars through various donations boxes set up at their businesses and front desk.
Savage said that the response from the community has been incredible.
“It’s wonderful. It’s great and it’s very rare. There’s been not just pockets of people but pockets of people somehow have come together as a whole,” she said.
“It’s indicative of how amazingly supportive this community is.”
