The Medicine Hat Fire Service continue to investigate a house fire on Sunrise Court (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

GoFundMe set up for family

Fire crews continue to investigate house fire

Sep 29, 2020 | 6:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A family of four is without a home after a blaze engulfed parts of their home yesterday afternoon. Fire trucks were at the home today as crews continued to investigate the cause of the inferno.

“Currently the investigators have narrowed it down to an area of origin, and all indications of the investigation thus far shows it to have started at the back rear deck and it’s accidental in nature,” said Scott Hanelt, fire marshall and chief investigator with the Medicine Hat Fire Service.

As the investigation began this morning, Hanelt said more members had to be called back in which put the investigation in a brief pause.

“The crews were called back in here just to deal with a few hot spots that kind of reignited in the wind they are kind of hard to get at,” Hanelt said.

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As for damage, Hanelt said the rear of the home sustained the most damage and the home has been deemed structurally unsafe to go into.

“The thermal effects of the fire itself caused significant damage to the structure. Insurance and adjusters have been called in and are dealing with it currently,” Hanelt said.

Two dogs and a reptile perished in the blaze.

The homeowners, Jody and Anton Selwood were at a funeral for their grandmother when they got the devastating news that their home was on fire.

“They are still in shock. I don’t know if they’ve really quite processed everything,” said relative Jaime Janot.

Aside from a funeral and the loss of their home, the day also marked the anniversary of their oldest son’s death, who died when he was an infant.

“The firefighters they were able to go in and actually retrieve some of their cherished memories of their son Jayden’s stuff as an infant and their memories of them and his passing,” she said.

The family’s 17-year-old son Brody also has special needs which makes losing their home even more difficult.

“Brody is in a wheelchair. He does use a ventilator at night. He has a trach, so all of his personal care needs need to be met. He is tube fed so he has several medical challenges.” she said.

Luckily, firefighters were able to retrieve much of Brody’s essential medical equipment. A family in the city also provided their extra ventilator which meant Brody could stay in the hotel to be with his family, as opposed to staying in hospital.

The community has come out in other ways to offer support for the family. Janot’s own daughter created a gofundme page which has generated over 150 donations so far.

“I know there’s been some other local clubs that have brought over money, I know that there have been a few people that have brought over clothes, and some food and things like that,” she said.

“They are very humble and grateful for the community support,” Janot said.