Barrie students lose everything in destructive fire as neighbours rally to help

Six international Georgian College students and one family lost their homes and everything inside them when a fire broke out on Wednesday morning, but their neighbours were quick to lend a helping hand.

Marianne Cowan said she ran outside her Tunbridge Road home on Wednesday in the early morning hours and saw flames down the street.

“[I] ran outside in the pouring rain with my daughter,” she said.

Home surveillance video captured the moments the panicked students ran into the street as raging flames and thick, black smoke filled the sky.

The fire appeared to start in the garage and quickly spread, engulfing the home and adjacent house within minutes.

“Everything burned – their cell phones, their passports, their suitcases, everything,” Cowan said. “I gave them water, cake, popsicles, and opened my house for nine hours.”

Nearby restaurant owner Abbasi Kothari also assisted the displaced and stunned students, offering them burgers, water and other good from his Mumbai Central restaurant.

“They were so happy,” he said. “You could see the ease on their faces. They could feel calm that they’ve got somebody who they can rely on.”

“We should all help everybody, no matter where they’re from,” Cowan added. “If I was in their country and that happened to me, I’d want some help too.”

Neighbours told CTV News that the family in the adjacent home had found temporary housing with a relative.

The six students received 72-hour accommodations from the Canadian Red Cross, with Friday night being their last at a local hotel. Georgian College will then provide them with temporary housing on student residence.

The Ontario Fire Marshal and local authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.