Michael, a 27-year old contractor, was just putting the finishing touches on his latest job. Just 20 mintues away from finishing the house and handing it over to his client, who was also his landlord, he heard a crackle, looked out the window and saw flames bellowing out of the garage.
He ran through the garage, into the basement to save his wife and 9-month old baby girl. They ran back up the stairs to the garage, only to find that it was now completely engulfed in flames, so they had to break down the door in the back to get out.
While the landlord had the place insured, Michael was not as lucky, losing over $15,000 of uninsured contracting equipment, along with almost everything they had in the rented basement. I witnessed the family pulling out all that they could salvage: it fit in two garbage bags and a shoebox.
Fortunately for baby Mikhita, a good samaritan, Tammy, took the family to the local Shoppers Drug Mart, where the Manager paid for all kinds of supplies for the little baby.
I was there shooting the fire yesterday, then shot the family today. It was tough. The guy was a brave guy who went in to save his wife and kid, then his pets, then the 17-year old landlord’s daughter (who had already run out of the house). As he was telling me this story, this guy was almost crying, you could hear the sniffling in his voice.
Secretly, I hoped he didn’t cry. If he did, I had to take a picture. It was my job. However, I know he’d like to stand tall. Fortunately, he managed to refrain from completely breaking down.
