Tyler Sims said he just felt adrenaline pumping through his body as he watched his house burn down.
“I just knew I had to do something,” said Sims, 18.
Tyler’s four-year home burned down Tuesday morning, leaving him and his family with nothing.
He said he was about to leave their home in Francois Court with his 15-year-old brother to hit the gym when he turned to grab a pair of shorts. That’s when he noticed the fire in his brother Zach’s room, 16.
“I rushed downstairs, grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But unfortunately it didn’t work,” he told CBC Windsor.
“I grabbed pots of water when I realized the fire extinguisher wasn’t working and I threw pots of water at it but it was too late to put out fire that had already climbed the wall and the whole house was engulfed in smoke. “
After seeing the extent of the fire, he made the decision to simply get his brother out of the house.
The fire left the family with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Windsor Fire and Rescue Services said the cause of the fire was a power outage in a tweet Tuesday afternoon and estimated the damage at $250,000.
The tweet also reported that four people were evicted, but Tyler said only three people lived in the home. Him, his father and his brother Zach.
They have a younger brother who was visiting at the time of the fire but he lives with his mother.
“We are all safe and all together”
Tyler said one of her “biggest losses” was her camping and snowboarding gear, as these are the family’s favorite pastimes.
“Money and items can be bought back, but the memories you make with things — you can’t get those back,” he said.
Zach also lost his insulin and other medical supplies he needs to manage his diabetes, but was able to quickly get new supplies.
The two brothers are in 12th and 11th grades, so another relevant loss was all their schoolwork, materials and books.
Tyler said his family has lifted each other up since the fire, which is why they’ve remained hopeful.
“By the end of the story, we all know we’re all safe and we’re all together,” Zach added.
As a gift to their father, Tyler and Zach started a GoFundMe and reached out to the community to “get back on their feet.”
“He lost everything too,” Zach said of his father.
“He worked really hard,” he added. “So this time we just wanted to help them out and hopefully raise enough money to get essentials and everything.”
