Chilliwack residents say they lost everything to apartment fire

Misty Hamelin is still in shock after a fire gutted her Chilliwack apartment earlier this week.

The single mom and her two daughters had just moved in six months ago. Misty says she had just gotten out of a transition house and was starting to get back on her feet.

The sense of stability she and her children felt was gone in an instant.

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“In seconds, it went up,” she said. “[The fire] was coming from the front, and it was coming from the back.”

Firefighters were called to the Applewood Court apartments just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, where they were met with heavy smoke and fire in the back of the building.

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It took crews hours to get the flames under control. All 36 units in the building have been affected.

But despite the devastating loss, residents are sticking together.

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“The funny thing is, I was about to move out and I cancelled my tenant’s insurance, and now I have nothing,” said Rocky Van Der Hoek, who lost his home in the fire.

“The support from the community has been absolutely stunning.”

The displaced residents have been receiving support from places like Tydel Foods, which is just a block away from their building. Owner Brigida Crosbie typically runs a meal program for local seniors, but given the recent tragedy, she has added all the impacted residents to her list.

“To help alleviate some of their stress, we will pay for their food for a whole month,” Crosbie said.

“Everybody came in today handing us cheques, and it has covered all the food for people in those units.”

Many residents, like Misty, have GoFundMe pages to help them get back on their feet.

The Chilliwack RCMP says the cause of the fire remains under investigation.