‘We lost our whole lives there’ Family of 13 in need of donations after devastating Dresden, Ont. fire

A large family in Chatham-Kent is in need of donations following a house fire that destroyed everything in their home earlier this week.

James Barnes and Tanya Vantomme of Dresden say they’re thankful no one was home on Croton Line at the time things went up in flames, noting they and their 11 children were staying with family in Blenheim after electrical issues prompted them to leave last week.

“Race to the house and it was fully engulfed in flames,” Barnes said from his sister-in-law’s home. 

“We lost everything.”

Fire officials say the cause is still under investigation, noting a cat and rat died in the blaze, but that the family dog escaped unharmed thanks to a passerby.

 “It could have been dramatic,” Barnes explained. “You know, we all could have been there, which thankfully we weren't. And I'm glad that we chose to stay somewhere else for a time.”

Family and friends have arranged a Go Fund Me page in an effort to get enough clothes for the family ahead winter. Barnes says he learned shortly after the fire that they didn’t have proper content insurance to cover the costs of things inside the home. 

“This is what we have. Our family and all of our kids which is the greatest part. We have 11 kids and there's two of us. So we have a big family,” Barnes continued. “I can't wrap my head around it yet. We lost a lot. We lost our whole lives there.”

Chatham-Kent Fire officials say they notice an increase in overnight fires during the colder months, noting this was one of two fires that occurred early Monday morning.

“We continuously see an increase of fires in the fall and winter months throughout Chatham-Kent and throughout the province of Ontario really,” said public educator Whitney Burk.

“We can't stress enough the importance of having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home,” Burk explained. “They really are the best protection especially when you're sleeping to alert you and help you get your house safely.”

Burk noted Chatham-Kent Fire offers free chirp checks upon request to make sure residents’ smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly and suggested keeping space heaters away from combustibles like curtains and couches.

“Usually these fires happen in the middle of the night, which was the case for the two fires that we saw early yesterday morning,” Burk said. “The cause is usually linked to heating sources electrical, and most of the time these fires are accidental in nature.”

According to the family, several Christmas gifts and family heirlooms were lost in the fire.

“Just got to start off at square one, I guess, and do the best we can to our family's capabilities to pull back together,” Barnes said.

He added, “As long as we got each other.”

Clothes and shoes are needed for both mom and dad and the kids who range in age from one to 16.

• Dad - men’s large
• Mom- woman’s med/large
• Boy age16- men’s large shoe size mens 11
• Girl age 15- woman’s medium shoe size woman’s 6.5
• Two boys age 14- men’s medium shoe size mens 9
• Two girls age 13- woman’s small/medium shoe size 7.5
• Boy age 10- size 10/12 shoe size 4
• Boy age 8 size 10/12 shoe size 3.5
• Girl age 6 size 7/8 shoe size 13
• Boy age 2 size 2T shoe size 6c
• Girl age 1 size 24 months