Sault man devastated after fire claims cabin in Goulais River area

Dean Lapham of Sault Ste. Marie nearly finished his dream cabin out in the woods after several years of saving up money and gathering building materials. 

But on Sept. 21, his dream cabin was found burned to the ground by a friend who regularly checks on the gated property in the Goulais River area. Ontario Provincial Police, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Goulais Fire and Rescue attended the scene. 

Lapham says that although police considered the fire non-suspicious in nature, a ranger with the MNR told him that the fire started from within the generator-powered cabin.  

“I couldn’t believe him, to be honest with you. I thought he was just messing around,” said Lapham, describing the phone call he received from his friend. “I just couldn’t believe this was for real.” 

“He said, ‘do you want me to send you pictures?’ I was like, he’s not joking around. This is a reality.”

For years, Lapham and his partner saved up money, acquiring building materials and even bartering in order to get lumber cut at a sawmill.  

“All the time we spent working on it - my girlfriend and I pretty much finished that whole cabin off. I had helped frame it and sheet it and put the roofing on, but her and I did the siding, the inside - the complete finishing. Everything,” he said. 

Lapham says it took more than a decade to obtain his dream, only to have it taken away from him in the most “heart-wrenching” way. 

“Right now I’m really, really broken over this. Even going there is difficult for me right now, because it’s just so sad,” he said. 

A GoFundMe campaign has since been set up for Lapham by a friend in order to help him build another dream cabin. The cabin that Lapham was lost to fire wasn’t insured.  

“This Go Fund Me was created by request of many friends and family who have been affected by Dean’s kindness and willingness to always lend a helping hand and were saddened by the news that his camp was burnt to ashes and want to help,” reads an excerpt from the online fundraiser. 

The GoFundMe campaign has collected more than $3,300 toward its $30,000 goal as of Friday. 

“It was really shocking that he did this,” said Lapham. “I was really grateful - grateful that there are a lot of people willing to help out. It’s been really nice to see.”