A family of 14 is homeless after a fire gutted their Toronto home over the weekend, destroying everything they own.
The extended family was living in a three-unit rental home on 43 Lambton Avenue, west of Weston Road, when a fire broke out in the basement Saturday night and quickly spread throughout the house.
“First my mom opened the basement door and then the fire started to come up, so they ran outside,” Patricia Dinai said, translating for her Hungarian-speaking father.
The family was able to escape without injury but lost everything in the fire.
“We lost every paper, every ID,” Dinai said. “Everything...”
Toronto firefighters said freezing cold temperatures hampered efforts to contain the fire which saw flames burst through the roof at one point.
It grew from two alarms to three and was not considered contained until late that night.
Firefighters pulled the family dog out of the home safely, but it escaped and hasn’t been seen since.
Since that night, the family has been staying in a hotel near Highway 400 but their time there is limited. Their three-night stay ends after today.
A fundraising effort has been started by local community group Black Creek Alliance to help the family rebuild. It has set a goal of raising $10,000.
“The Kis/Diani family has five children and could use our help. The house and everything in it is gone,” reads a GoFundMe page titled ‘Help Mount Dennis House Fire Victims.’
“The money raised here will be used to help them with food, clothing, supplies and other unexpected expenses.”
The family believes they have insurance of some kind but they don’t know what it covers or who their provider is. They said those documents have likely been lost.
The Black Creek Alliance said they will be meeting with the family tonight to gather specifics on what the family needs.
