There was no insurance on the trailer that caught fire leaving a man homeless over the weekend so local residents are rallying together to raise funds and collect items.
“It’s just devastating. He’s left with nothing. I just feel like we need to do something to help him,” Marty Marchand Ring said.
Harold Bullington was left homeless and without any possessions except the clothes on his back when a grass fire that got out of control destroyed the trailer he lived in west of Keremeos Saturday morning.
“He told me after he thought it might have been caused by an electrical cord he’d setup and run to his neighbour’s because she was cut off and needed hydro,” she said. “He tried to do something nice for someone down on their luck and he ended up with his home destroyed.”
Bullington is currently living in a local motel with arrangements setup by the Lower Similkameen Indian Band.
Marchand Ring said she went to visit Bullington on Monday night and he was still wearing the same clothes from the day of the fire.
“I was surprised to find no one had given him any clothes. My husband went through his closet and picked out some things he’d never worn and that would fit him so he would have something. Some other people gave him some toiletries. We all need to pull together for him,” she said.
Bullington is in his 50s and suffers from diabetes and related complications.
Marchand Ring helped setup a bank account at Valley First so people can donate to help Bullington get back on his feet and buy the necessities.
She’s also started a GoFundMe campaign called Harold Bullington Fire Victim Fund at www.gofundme.com/wg3hepe4.
Keremeos Storage has donated the use of a storage unit so items can be housed for Bullington when he has a new residence.
Marchand Ring said helping with furnishing a new home is secondary to his basic needs now.
“He’s lost everything so he has to start again. We want to collect things in good condition that will help when he has a home again but right now he’s just living day to day,” she said.
Marchand Ring is hoping volunteers and people with gently used items will contact her. Her number is 250-499-2607.
A few fundraisers are in the works and the Review will post information on its Facebook page as it becomes available.