Family loses everything

By Brooke Larsen

A melted television. A fish tank twisted by heat. A pink toy pony in a pile of soot.

This is what's left of the Ball family's possessions after a cooking fire that gutted their mobile home in the 13900-block of Fraser Highway Tuesday afternoon.

No one was injured, but nearly everything in the home was ruined by fire or smoke damage.

"Want to buy a CD?" Randy Ball, owner of the house, asks sadly, pointing to a stack of melted discs.

Neighbours helped put out the blaze with garden hoses until the fire trucks arrived.

"Everyone was screaming and yelling. It was pretty intense," said Ball.

The Balls had been living at the trailer park for 14 years.

They have already had offers of clothes and furniture from people who have heard their story. But they have nowhere to put them, as the family of five is living in a cramped little trailer borrowed from a friend.

What they really need is to fix their damaged home, which is structurally sound, but requires massive repairs to its interior. Ball said he has no idea how much that will cost.

He and his wife, Wendy, who has multiple sclerosis and walks with a cane, are unemployed, and neither had insurance.

Randy Ball said the fire was particularly hard on their daughter, Kirsten, 13, who attends Guildford Park secondary with her brother, Kevin, 14. Their youngest son, Mark, is 12 and attends Lena Shaw elementary.

Wendy Ball says she can't bear to go inside the house yet.

"I'm still not there yet. All I can do is look in the window and shake my head."

But she's grateful they were able to salvage most of a set of china that once belonged to Randy Ball's great-grandmother.

Stuart, the family cat - named for Stuart Little, the mouse from the popular children's book - narrowly escaped the blaze, Wendy Ball said.

"He's got really bad blisters on his paws. I think he's a little stunned."

To contact the Balls, phone 604-585-7079.

posted on 04/25/2005