By Leah Murray

Nearly one year after a devastating fire, a Medicine Hat family is finally moving on

May 30, 2018 | 5:15 PM

MEDICINE HAT – A local family is still trying to recover after a blaze tore through a community in the City’s southeast nearly one year ago.

The fire started beneath the deck of a home on Sprague Way. Fire investigators believe a cigarette butt sparked the blaze that destroyed two homes and seriously damaged a third across the street.

The two places that were destroyed have since been rebuilt from the ground up. The homes should be ready for the owners to move in this summer.

Tracy and Calvin Krein were also hoping they’d get the chance to rebuild, but say their insurance company didn’t think the home was damaged enough. They say they’ve been stuck in limbo battling with their insurance company for months to get something done.

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“We had a structural engineer come down twice, we gutted it, he came down again, still said it’s structurally okay, but there was so much damage still from the water,” Tracy explained.

“A construction consultant came down at one point and said it should come down, and [the insurance company and consultant] were fighting about what needed to be done.”

Finally, the insurance company told them to renovate, but when the Krein’s contractor went in to start work, they discovered more damage had occurred over the winter.

“The basement floors heaved and the foundation walls cracked and water leaked in,” Tracy said. “So now, it pretty much has to be taken down.”

The Krein’s insurance company finally gave the green light to tear down and rebuild, and on Wednesday morning crews moved in and demolished the house.

“I was sick to my stomach, it was a real raw emotion since we built this house in 1993,” Tracy said.

While it was an emotional day, Calvin said it’s also a fresh start.

“When [the fire] first happened it was hard,” he said. “Today… we’re excited that it’s coming down.”

It will likely take several more months to pour a new foundation and rebuild their home, but the couple say it’s a relief to finally have a resolution.

“At the end of the day it’s going to again be our dream home and we plan on being in there for a while,” said Calvin.