Family displaced after fire rips through Kitchener apartment

A Kitchener family is looking for a new place to live after a fire ripped through their apartment.

It happened Sunday in the area of Fairway Road South and Kingsway Drive.

Crews took several hours to put out the flames. The Kitchener Fire Department is still investigating a cause, but they estimate the damages to be around $5 million.

Tara Butler lived in one of the units with her 13-year-old son Mateo and 3-year-old grandson Saint.

Mateo said he was in the building when the fire started.

“I ran into my living room to go check the window and I saw ashes like it was raining,” Mateo told CTV News.

Everyone got out safely, but their belongings were left behind.

“Toys, and baby books, and everything we’ve owned is all in there,” Tara Butler said.

Butler said she doesn’t have tenant insurance and isn’t sure how she’ll replace what’s lost.

The family was taken in by the Red Cross and put up in a hotel until Thursday. They say they’re checking into an Airbnb for a week, but don’t know what to do after that.

“We have no idea where to go or what to do or where we will wake up Christmas morning,” Butler said.

The family set up a gofundme page to help cover costs.

Butler was told it could take anywhere from six months to a year before they can return home.

“We’re just going to be together the best we can and make the best of it,” Butler said.