Brenda Verdiel, owner and operator of Whynnying for Life in Hanmer, is a passionate woman.
She isn't about to let something like fire burn that passion away, even if that fire did destroy most of her hay supply and several structures on her property.
Whynnying for Life will continue to operate, she said.
“Our programs will continue, but they will be a little different,” Verdiel said. “We'll do whatever we have to do, and it will continue, no ifs, ands or buts about it.”
The farm was home to more than 10 miniature horses, as well as nine larger ponies and horses (not counting horses that are boarded there), alpacas and a cat. None of the animals were injured.
Firefighters from six station were called to the Dupuis Drive home at about 7:20 a.m. on July 28. Assistant deputy fire chief Jesse Oshell said crews responded to reports of a barn and tractor on fire. When firefighters arrived, they found a barn structure fully engulfed in flames.
Verdiel was emotional when recalling the events of that morning.
“I heard a loud bang, and I thought someone was hunting in my back yard, which unfortunately happens,” Verdiel said. “I was not very impressed, and said to my husband, 'what the hell, someone's shooting in the back.' Well, it wasn't a shot — not this time.”
And that's when all hell broke loose, she said.
Her neighbour, Mike Dupuis, banged on her door. Dupuis, who lives down the road, was having coffee on his porch when he noticed the smoke.
“I ran over to see what was going on,” Dupuis said. “When I got there, no one was outside, so I went and woke them up.”
After he helped get the animals to safety, he grabbed a hose and started spraying the fire.
“It started so small, with just a little bit of smoke, but it spread so fast,” he said. “It didn't take long at all before the hay caught fire. It was so surprising. There were a lot of explosions happening when I first got there, but I know they had a lot of gas cans in the barn.”
Dale Ross lives across the street. He said he was having coffee on his back porch at about 7 a.m. when he could smell something like plastic burning.
“We thought someone was burning garbage or something, but then we heard a couple of pops, like someone shooting a gun,” Ross said. “I went out onto the front porch, and that's when I saw a plume of black smoke. I ran down the driveway, saw the fire, and we called 911.”
He said it took the fire department 10 minutes to get there.
“I was pretty impressed with that,” he said. “We're all out here in the same boat, so a 10-minute response time makes me happy, but I'm sorry to see what happened across the street.”
Oshell said the exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined, however, “we suspect the tractor may have ignited the flames.”
Verdiel said she had used the tractor the night before to do some cutting in the back field. She parked it for the night, not thinking anything out of the ordinary would happen. After all, after 22 years at that property, they had never had to deal with a fire.
In the aftermath, Verdiel has lost much of the equipment she used for Whynnying for Life, a not-for-profit registered charity that provides programs and support for people of all ages and abilities to learn how to cope better under stress using horses as part of their therapy.
Verdiel said she's thankful everyone is OK.
“Everyone is good, the horses are safe, and that's what's No. 1 right now,” Verdiel said. “We've lost all our saddles, bridles and halters for our programs, as well as our carts for the children's programs. I have no idea of the dollar amount we have lost, but it's high.”
The community support the family has received, even within hours of the fire, has been overwhelming, she said.
“It's fantastic,” Verdiel said. “We already have people who contacted us in regards to hay, and we'll be getting some hay on Sunday.”
Rebecca Boisvert, who has been helping with the Whynnying for Life programs since 2012, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $1,600 to purchase hay for the horses.
“Whynnying for Life is a wonderful organization,” Boisvert said. “We meet all kinds of different needs for all kinds of different people in our city. We use these wonderful animals to help people better themselves through a variety of therapy methods.”
She said news of the fire spread quickly through social media.
“Everyone is completely devastated,” she said. “Brenda is an amazing woman who has helped out so many people. “If you ask anyone about Brenda, you won't hear one negative thing about her. I just really hope the community realizes how much she's done. We're not asking for a lot. We just hope people, especially those who have been through the program and have seen how much joy it brings, can see it in their hearts to help out.”
In fighting this particular fire, Oshell said when firefighters are dealing with a rural property like this, as well as with hay, the major concern is the availability of water.
“There are no hydrants here, and that's why we dispatch so many stations — to ensure we have an adequate water supply for the crews fighting the fire,” Oshell said. “Hay is rather difficult to extinguish, so we brought in some heavy equipment to bring down the hay structure and help firefighters.”
