A family south of Edmonton is grieving the loss of not just their family home of two decades, but also the deaths of several cats they owned as part of a breeding business.
Fire broke out at the home of Matt and Angela Manhard and their three sons on Chateau Court in the city of Beaumont, Alta., Monday afternoon.
“We lost everything, you know, right down to even our animals,” Matt said on Thursday while standing outside the charred, fenced-off remains of his home.
His wife Angela, visibly shaken, said she’s still raw and emotional two days later.
“When you lose a house, you lose your memories,” she said.
Firefighters responded to the home just after 4 p.m. March 11. Matt was driving home from work in Edmonton when he saw the smoke from Anthony Henday Drive.
As he headed south on 50th Street into Beaumont, Matt said his phone began blowing up with messages saying his house was on fire.
Beaumont Fire Service said it had assistance from City of Leduc firefighters and was able to keep the flames from spreading to other houses — but the Manhard home was lost.
“Just stood there and watched the house burn,” Matt said upon arriving home. “There’s nothing else that you can do.”
“It was pretty intense because you see this stuff on the news, but you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you.”
Angela was working at the nearby Edmonton airport outlet mall when the fire broke out. She got a call at the store and rushed home.
“My thoughts running through there was, ‘I don’t care about any possessions or anything, I just wanted to make sure my kids and my cats were okay,'” Angela said.
The family’s two oldest boys were not home at the time — one was out job hunting and the other was at a friend’s house — but their 12-year-old was inside, gaming with a headset on – he didn’t initially realize the house was on fire.
Only after alarms started going off and a neighbour began banging on the front door did the boy come out of his room to see what was going on.
“My neighbour just grabbed him and all my dogs, they looked behind them and within seconds, the entire kitchen was on fire and they just ran out of the house,” Matt said.
“No shoes, no jacket. Just get out.”
The family’s four golden retriever dogs got out safe but their Bengal cats were not so lucky.
Angela ran a breeding and show cat business called Beaumont Bengals, and the fire claimed the lives of more than a dozen 12 cats and kittens.
On Thursday, she was visibly devastated talking about the loss of her beloved cats.
“I’m a pretty strong and resilient person but my cats were really important to me,” she said, choking up as she talked about showing the prized animals at pet expos and competitions across Canada.
“My cats were happy. They were healthy. My kids loved them.”
“They each had a little special piece of my heart. And they were all funny cats,” Angela said, explaining she grew up in a pet-loving home, prides herself on being a reputable and ethical breeder and has aspirations of being a judge with The International Cat Association (TICA).
“It’s just something I’m very passionate about and a lot of Bengal breeders are passionate about their cats, we all help each other out. My friends will help me rebuild one day.”
The Beaumont Fire Service said the cause of the fire is still being determined. On Thursday, investigators were combing the scene.
“It doesn’t look like the fire started inside the house. It looked like it started on the outside of the house. But again, we have no idea why,” Matt said.
The Manhard family has lived in their home for 19 years, saying their place was built even before area showhomes were.
“We’re always going to have those memories, that’s never going to go away. But at the same time, it’s tough to see everything just gone — the only thing that any of us had was just the clothes on our backs,’ Matt said.
“Everything burned.”
The family is involved in the community and now, that community is giving back.
A GoFundMe has raised thousands of dollars and the Manhards said they’ve heard from countless friends, family, coworkers and even strangers looking to help out.
“All my possessions are gone but I’m just glad that I still have my family and I have my dogs. And I just wanted to thank the community for coming together to help us,” Angela said through tears.
“I can’t thank people enough.”
“So many people have come to our aid,” Matt said. “It’s been amazing and we can’t thank you enough for the amount of generosity and help everybody has been providing for us.”
The Manhard’s are living with family on a nearby acreage and Matt said their insurance company is helping them find a new place to live. They’ve also received clothes, dog toys and other items from friends.
“Now we’ve just got to start over and do as much as we can, and with everybody’s generosity coming to our aid and helping us — we’ll persevere,” Matt said.
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