Members of the Upper Nicola Indian Band and other communities were quick to respond to tragedy when Hank and Delphine Charters lost their home to fire Tuesday, March 22.

At least 20 people including nine volunteer firefighters gathered at the scene of the fire to assist the family and by Wednesday night, the Band had organized a fundraiser dinner that raised $2,587 to assist the family.

“We wanted to do it as fast as we could and help them as much as we could,” said Eva Tom a front-desk employee at the UNIB office.

When it was clear that the Charters had lost everything, Tom and others notified other Band offices and businesses by fax and by the next morning the UNIB office was receiving donations on the Charter’s behalf. News of the spaghetti dinner, which included a 50/50 draw and a loonie auction travelled quickly by word of mouth and the response was “phenomenal” said Tom.

“We’re getting a bank account set up and we’ll put all the donations and money fundraised in there for them,” she said. “Delphine and Hank have supported everyone – you can count on them to always be at a fundraiser – so we wanted to support them.”

Speaking to the Herald at the dinner, Hank said he and his wife were very touched by the gestures and explained what had happened.

On Tuesday morning, Hank and his wife drove into Merritt and were fuelling their vehicle around 10 a.m. when he received a call from one of his boys that the house was on fire. He hopped in the car and drove “like a bat out of hell” back to the reserve in time to see a big cloud of smoke going up from what used to be their home.

Chief Danny Manuel, former director of community services for the UNIB, said that the volunteer firefighters made it to the house in minutes after responding to the call but by that time the structure was already beyond saving.

“No one was in the house, which was a blessing, but it also means the fire went unnoticed at first,” said Manuel.

When community members noticed the smoke they notified the band office, but soon the building was engulfed with flames that were visible from the Band office.

Responding firefighters used three hoses to knock down the flames and try and prevent further property damage.

“It’s tough for the fire department not to be able to do more, but the people that responded did a tremendous job,” said Manuel. “Right away the whole community responded, which speaks to their real dedication and commitment to helping.”

Because of a lack of funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to keep equipment up to date, Manuel said several volunteer firefighters weren’t in turnout gear because none was available.

He said, inadequate equipment is a reality they have to deal with, but volunteers are still enthusiastic to help.

Several years ago, the department responded to a fire in Quilchena and assisted in saving the Quilchena Store. Unfortunately, this time there wasn’t a lot the department could do.

“This is a huge loss for the community, and of course a lot of what Hank and Delphine lost is irreplaceable,” said Manuel.

Hank and Delphine had lived in the split level three bedroom home for 27 years and had finally paid it off two years ago. Unfortunately, the home was not insured.

A likely cause of the fire said Hank was the wood burning stove and chimney that had not been cleaned for a while.

Things happened so quickly Hank said, but he said he was grateful how people were equally quick to come to their aid.