Jarvis house fire leaves mother and 3 children without home

Lindsay Bowley and her three children have been left without a home, after a fire burnt through their house in Jarvis, just south of Hagersville on Sunday night.

Bowley, her three children, and their pets were all home when the blaze erupted in their garage. “It feels like a dream like I wanna just wake up.”

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Bowley was dying a friend’s hair around 11 p.m. when she smelt something burning. “I followed my nose, I went to the garage and I opened the door and I got blown back with heat and smoke. I don’t remember seeing flames but I remember hearing them and that’s how I burnt my hand.”

Bowley suffered third-degree burns to her hand from the doorknob on the interior garage door. But that didn’t stop her from rescuing her kids, her friend, their child, and most of the home’s pets. A snake and two geckos didn’t survive.

She got her youngest, 5-year-old Serenity out first, but after returning to save nine-year-old Brycen and 7-year-old Haley, Serenity also went back inside. “My daughter had gone back up to bed, so I went back to get her.”

Bowley’s friend Mandy Wikis came to help and took the kids to stay at her house. “Me and another mom helped get them in my car, like these little ones didn’t even have shoes right? So they were in their jammies.”

The kids are now staying with their grandmother while Bowley is staying with Mandi until she can find the family a new place to live.

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The Haldimand County Fire Department responded and put out the flames and are investigating the fire. They told CHCH News in an email that the cause has not been identified, but nothing suggests it was suspicious.

Bowley says the investigator told her he believed it was likely electrical.

After the fire, it didn’t take long for the community of Jarvis to come together and help Bowley and her family.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise donations, and Mandi is looking for someone to donate a storage locker so they can start collecting new furniture.

A fish fry is also planned for July 31 at the Jarvis Community Centre to raise money.

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