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‘We’re lucky to be alive,’ mother says after fire destroys home

Homeowner suffers second degree burns in the blaze
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Teddi-Joy Allinson and daughter Leah. Photo supplied

Teddi-Joy Allinson is coping with physical injuries and emotional pain after a fire destroyed her two-bedroom mobile home in Pioneer Park, 15 km north of the Sault, on last Thursday.

Allinson is recovering from second degree burns to her feet, right hand and left arm, sustained as she fled from the fire scene.

“We (Allinson and her boyfriend) were having a date night. We were having dinner, then went to bed around 10:30. When the fire alarm went off it was 12:30-ish. I woke up, ran into the kitchen and realized part of the door and around the window was on fire. Being in shock, I tried to get water to put it out, then when I got back I didn’t realize how bad it really was. My boyfriend just said ‘we need to get out of the house',” Allinson said, speaking to SooToday.

“I ran out the front door, which was already on fire, then he managed to open the back door which we seal up for the winter, got our dogs out, then got himself out.”

The couple drove to the park owner’s home for help.

Volunteer firefighters arrived in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but the home was quickly destroyed by fire.

“I didn’t even realize I had any wounds (at the time),” Allinson said.

“Later I realized I had burnt my feet. When the ambulance came I realized I had burnt my hand and my arm, but my feet hurt the most.”

Allinson’s boyfriend, a Blind River resident who was staying with Allinson for a few days, along with the two dogs, were uninjured.

“My (five-year-old) daughter was staying at my Mom’s for the night, thankfully,” Allinson said.

Allinson was treated at Sault Area Hospital for her burns and released early Friday, Jan. 8, currently staying with her parents in the Sault and receiving daily home care treatment for her wounds.

“I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed. I’ve been crying for the last few days.”

“At the end of the night I just want to go back to my home, but I can’t go back there ever again,” Allinson said through tears.

“I lost all the memorabilia. Everything since my daughter was born was in that house, all the little keepsakes, all the little things I had in her albums. That’s the stuff that I wish I could get back.” 

Despite the waves of sadness and sense of loss, Allinson said “there’s so much support from my family and friends and the community. It’s been amazing, and I think that’s been keeping my spirits up. I don’t think I would be in as good a place as I am if it wasn’t for that.”

Allinson said her home was uninsured, insurers unwilling to provide coverage for the home due to an old furnace and a new furnace out of Allinson’s financial reach.

Allinson said the fire’s cause, currently under investigation, is thought to be due to an electrical problem.

While Allinson recovers from her wounds and deals with her sadness, her brother has set up a GoFundMe page to help her rebuild some of the material loss she has experienced.

“At the end of the day, we’re all safe. I can’t thank God enough for the fact that my daughter was here (at her parents home),” Allinson said.

“I just keep thinking about ‘what if she was at my house,’ what she would’ve gone through. I’m having a hard enough time. I’m not really sleeping well. I keep envisioning the fire and when I was at the hospital I honestly thought the room was on fire. But she doesn’t have to go through that and that’s taken a big weight off my heart. My daughter, myself, my boyfriend and the dogs are okay.”

“I just have to come to terms with the fact there is certain stuff I’m never going to be able to replace. Things from when my daughter was little, and even stuff from when I was a kid I had in my home. But everything else is replaceable and I’ll rebuild. We’re all here, and five minutes later that might not have been the case if the fire alarm hadn’t gone off. We’re lucky to be alive.”

“I’ll just start new photo albums from here on out,” Allinson said.


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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