Helping hands reach out to residents displaced by Froude Avenue fire

Teenage camp counsellorsare getting some unexpected training this week, as their community centre was turned into a collection station for those left homeless by this week'sdevastating fire on Froude Avenue.

A Newfoundland and Labrador Housing complexin the west end of St. John's was ravaged by fire Monday some 100 metres from the front steps of the Froude Avenue Community Centre.

• 'I'm at a loss for words': Froude Avenue-area residents want answers to water supply problems
• Residents safe, but water supply creates problems in battling Froude Avenue blaze

"They just lost everything," said Emily Newman, one of thecounsellors."Watching the kidsnot really understand what's going onit's difficult, but we're getting through it day by day."

Of the 63 people impacted by the fire, 20lost their homes completely andseveral are children who take part in community centre programs.

Becca Leggo, another young camp counsellor, is worried about where those children will end up.

"It's going to be different," she said. "It's hard for them to see the houses now. They don't want to be up around this way."

Immediate action, donations cram centre

Flames were still spreading from unit to unit when the first bags of donated goodslanded on the community centre patio.

By Wednesday afternoon, the donations were still pouring in.

"It was a big shock," said Executive DirectorBob Dawson."It was something we didn't decide to take on. But Ithink the community in itself voted us to take it on. So here we are."

First came clothing, then food andbaby supplies even sets of furniture. The donations came from all over the city, with people driving in from as far as Clarenville to lend a hand.

Staff and volunteers say they will assess the needs of those displaced and dish out the donations accordingly.

They've been pulling long hours since the fire, sorting through donations and moving them to shipping containers across the street to free up space.

After all, the centre still has programming to provide.

With limited space in the containers, Dawson is asking people to hold off on donating large items until the residents are settled away in their new homes.

"The best way somebody can help right now would be gift cards or donations of money," he said.

Eight families are confirmed to have lost their homes, while four others have sustained heavy smoke and water damage, and may takea week to be refurbished.