Salvation Army Responds to Fire at a Landmark Hotel
On the morning of Oct 19, a fire destroyed the Driftwood Inn, a historic hotel in Deer Lake, N.L. Shortly after firefighters arrived to put out the blaze, The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) was on the scene.
Robyn Courtney and Sandra Lush recently became co-team leads for the local EDS group. Soon after hearing about the emergency, they assembled their team.
“Everybody showed up within 15 minutes. We had people ready to go,” Robyn says.
Coincidentally, just a day before, the EDS team took part in a training session.
“Our thrift store manager opened the building for us to bring them in. We let them pick whatever they needed.”
“The day before, we participated in a mock disaster at our airport,” Sandra shares. “We went from practice to learning right away.”
Salvation Army was early on the scene to support those affected by fire.
At the scene of the fire, The Salvation Army provided food, clothing, essential items, and emotional and spiritual support to both first responders and victims. The support continued throughout the day until firefighters controlled the fire by the evening.
“We had people providing emotional and spiritual support to the teens and their parents.”
“We had four to five people on at a time. We did two-to-three-hour shifts each, and then we would switch up and had another team ready to come and take over,” Robyn adds.
For the guests at the Driftwood Inn, the disaster was a horrifying experience. The EDS team worked diligently to meet the needs of those affected. A youth girls’ volleyball team was staying at the inn for an upcoming tournament. Due to the severity of the situation, many of the players had to evacuate in their pyjamas and without shoes.
“We had people providing emotional and spiritual support to the teens and their parents,” Sandra says.
There were also a couple of Driftwood staff who recently came to Canada and lived at the hotel. Having lost all their belongings, The Salvation Army came to their aid right away.
“Our thrift store manager opened the building for us to bring them in. We let them pick whatever they needed,” Robyn says. In the following days, the community helped them find shelter and new jobs.
Firefighters and paramedics expressed their gratitude to The Salvation Army.
“So many people came up to us and thanked us,” Sandra shares.
In addition, the provincial government praised the Army’s response.
“A few days after the fire, our Provincial Premier, Andrew Furey, called to tell us how grateful they were to the Deer Lake Salvation Army volunteers for their support that day,” Robyn adds.
The EDS response to the fire has since inspired people in the community to come and help.
Before the fire, EDS had eight active members on their team. For a planned Disaster Food Services & Canteen Operations training session held on Nov 4, and 5, 50 individuals from both the church and community attended.
“I think being visible in the town, and just knowing what had happened, we’ve had a lot of interest. People have connected with us and said, ‘Put me on the team’,” Robyn says. “It was great to see how everyone came and worked together.”
By Juan Romero
