A Fredericton family that lost everything during a house fire is speaking out about the importance of buying renter’s insurance.
The Stackhouse family was inside their home when the fire ignited the morning of April 5.
Chris Stackhouse and his fiancé, Katrina Jenkins, say they awoke to the sound of loud banging.
"First thing we did was run down the hall to get our kids out,” said Jenkins. “By the time we got to the kids, the power had gone out."
The home was gutted by flames.
“Our pictures were burnt just from the heat so there was like orange streaks going through our photographs,” said Jenkins. “Our clothing was pretty much all destroyed, you can't wash that out."
The family of seven didn’t have renter's insurance when the fire happened, which is a mistake Stackhouse says they’ll never make again.
"Now we pay $30 a month and we are covered for everything. If you don't have renter's insurance, get it," said Stackhouse.
While the damage is still being evaluated, they believe they've lost everything. But throughout the week, they say they've gained a lot more.
"You really don't expect that the community's going to come together the way that it does,” said Stackhouse. “With everybody that helped us, within a matter of days we had a home, furniture, clothing."
The family says they had a lot of help from Big Hearts Small City, the Canadian Red Cross, Value Village and many more organizations.
They're hoping others will now hear their message, and ensure they're covered in the case something happens.
They’re also encouraging families to have a planned fire escape route. Jenkins says their seven-year-old son learned about it in school, and ended up grabbing his five-year-old sister's hand to lead her out of the house.
"Really shows the importance of fire drills within the home and what they're learning at school, it's just great," said Jenkins.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
