Eighty-one-year-old Irvin Beaudry looking at the remains of his house following the fire (Submitted photo/Brooke Dallyn)

By Elliott Knopp

Fire GoFundMe

Rapid View community rallies around senior following house fire

May 4, 2021 | 5:07 PM

After losing nearly all of his possessions in an unfortunate house fire, one Rapid View resident is preparing to move into a new home after receiving financial assistance from the community.

On April 16, 81-year-old Irvin Beaudry was away from his home searching for a car part when a neighbour burning garbage lost control of the blaze and triggered a grass fire that eventually consumed Beaudry’s home and destroyed his possessions. Beaudry did not have insurance and was living on his pension, meaning he wasn’t financially equipped to handle the loss.

Irvin Beaudry and the remains of his old home (Submitted photo/Brooke Dallyn)

With nothing more than the clothes he was wearing and his truck, Beaudry turned to his family for support and emergency housing. Upon hearing the news, Beaudry’s great niece, Brooke Dallyn, created a GoFundMe page to help alleviate the costs associated with the loss and finding a new home. Within a matter of days, the page would exceed its goal of $15,000.

Dallyn explained the generosity of the community to rally around her great uncle in his time of need has left the family with feelings of deep appreciation and gratitude for their neighbours in the community.

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“We were blown away at how quickly people stepped up and started donating to the cause,” Dallyn said. “There was just a ridiculous amount of donations coming in left and right. Irvin said that it wasn’t just the GoFundMe page. There were people passing along the street, giving him money and donating a table, chairs and household items that he lost. They were stepping up and donating all of that stuff too, so it was incredible to see the generosity of the community.”

The remains of Irvin Beaudry’s old home (Submitted photo/Brooke Dallyn)

She added Beaudry has remained in high spirits despite the loss, cracking jokes and trying to spread joy to people he encounters.

“My uncle Irvin makes everything into a joke. He’s had humor the entire time through this. As soon as I heard, I had called them the next day, and I said ‘what, are you burning your house down?’ as a joke. His response was ‘this was easier than cleaning it.’ He just loves to put a smile on other people’s face, and he has been so grateful for the amount of donations and household items that he has gotten. He honestly can’t be thankful enough.”

The remains of Irvin Beaudry’s old home (Submitted photo/Brooke Dallyn)

Now that he has secured the financial boost from the community, Dallyn said Beaudry is looking to move into an apartment. What will happen with the old lot he used to live on has not been determined at the time of publishing.

Dallyn is unaware if any charges have been pressed against the neighbour burning garbage.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp