Son remembers father killed in Albert Street fire

The man killed last month in a west end apartment fire is being remembered as a father, an avid outdoorsman and a soup kitchen volunteer.

Darrin Phillips, 52, died as a result of a Sept. 30 apartment fire at 544 Albert Street West, says his son Derek Pearce.

Since Phillips’ Oct. 6 memorial, Pearce, his younger brother Joey and older brother Kyle Teske have continued the difficult work of clearing out his father’s belongings from the apartment , most of which is heavily smoke damaged.

“We’re going through it to see what is salvageable,” said Pearce.

While doing the work, which continued yesterday, Pearce has been hearing from neighbours about the work his father did around the building and the help he offered to the other tenants.

“He did a lot around here. I guess in the winter he shovelled the driveways and all of that. In summer he did the weed-whacking,” said Pearce.

Phillips’ beloved cat Tiggy also died in the apartment fire.

During the memorial, Pearce heard more about the work his father did at the Soup Kitchen Community Centre, a short walk from the apartment.

“I knew he volunteered there, I just didn’t know how involved he was,” said Pearce.

Ron Sim, general manager of the Soup Kitchen, said Phillips was a ‘go-to’ kind of guy.

“Any time we needed something, we would ask him and he would be right there to help,” said Sim.

Phillips would often help out, said Sim, including doing van deliveries.

“He was just a very nice guy who always wanted to lend a hand and always tried to help anyone who asked,” said Sim.

Pearce also remembers his father often helping those in need, which he attributed to the years he spent in Trout Lake.

“It was a small community, everybody knew each other an helped each other out,” said Pearce.

He also recalls his father volunteering as his Cub Scout troop leader when Pearce was a boy.

During events like the Cub Cars, an annual event where Cub Scouts design and race small wooden cars with plastic wheels, Phillips would put his carpentry skills to work.

“We’d model our cars out and he would cut the wood and put the weight into it. He was very good with his hands,” said Pearce.

Although Pearce is Phillips’ only biological child, he notes he and his brothers share a bond and “in a way, (Phillips) raised us all a little bit.”

Lance Schubert, an investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office said the fire is still under investigation.

An avid outdoorsman, a portion of Phillips’ cremated remains will be planted in an eco-friendly urn, which will support the growth of a cedar tree.

Pearce said the tree will be planted at the family camp on Cockburn Island, near Thessalon.

“He was an avid hunter. He would be hunting to this day if he could,” he said.

Pearce is halfway through a 10-year project to map the entire city of Sault Ste. Marie in the video game world of SimCity 4, titled Project Sault Ste. Marie.

The project is on a temporary break while Pearce continues the work at his father’s apartment.

When work resumes on the project, Pearce said he will model the Soup Kitchen next.

“I’m actually going to continue working on (the project) because my dad loved it. I am probably going to dedicate it to his memory moving forward,” said Pearce.