Family home lost to house fire

Melissa Frate and her partner Don Beauvais experienced what no family wants to go through this week: the total loss of their family home as a result of a devastating house fire.

But there’s one thing that has been providing them with a glimmer of hope as they navigate an uncertain path forward as they look to rebuild their family’s lives over the coming months, and that’s the unwavering support of the community as they continue to fundraise and provide donations during their time of need.

“Anytime tragedy hits Kahnawake, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in the community, everyone bands together. I’ve seen so much support and so much love from people who I wouldn’t even expect to be helping us,” Frate said. “I’ve seen people not even from this reservation helping. This morning somebody I’ve never met in my life from a different reservation sent $1,000 towards our fund. I’ve never felt this kind of love and support before firsthand.”

Frate, her 12-year-old daughter Grace Montour, and Beauvais were at home on Monday evening when the fire started. Frate and Beauvais were watching television while Frate completed beadwork and they heard a small “pop” from another room followed by what seemed to be a dripping noise, at first assuming the noise was their daughter opening the shower door.

Moments later, the two realised that all they could see out of their window was white smoke, and they immediately leapt to their feet.

Beauvais rushed to the stairs, not immediately realizing that they had caught fire and were full of bubbling hot tar which had seemingly leaked from the underlayment of the house’s tin roof. He sustained third-degree burns on his feet and will need a skin graft during his recovery.

The couple managed to scream to their daughter to get out of the house, and she was able to safely escape the building, running out the back porch without time to put shoes on.

Frate also escaped through the back, but was only able to grab her purse as she fled the blaze. It wasn’t until they had left the building that they could see the scale of the fire.

“We could see black smoke coming out, just all the heat coming out of the roof from the back porch,” Frate said. “I went into panic mode. I didn’t think it was that bad but then I saw how big the flames were.”

Assistant fire chief Karonhiio Curotte said the Kahnawake Fire Brigade (KFB) responded to the call for help within six minutes, and had to bring in four tankers running relay with water to extinguish the flames - the home was located at the end of Towerline Road, which has no access to fire hydrants.

He said the damage was so great that the team had to call in Diabo Trucking to tear down the building, and that between 15-20 firefighters attended the scene, as well as additional ambulance crews.

“When we got there, the flames were already exiting the roof of the building, it was pretty intense already,” he said.

As Frate rushed to leave the scene with her daughter, the electrical wire where she believes the fire started snapped off and almost hit her - she believes the fire was electrical, but with the devastation of the scene, the cause is yet to be confirmed.

She and her daughter were able to rush to safety at a neighbour’s house, while Beauvais, a former firefighter, sustained further burns to his arms while trying to leave the scene.

While Frate said she’s beyond grateful that her family didn’t sustain life-threatening injuries, the sheer devastation of the scene was traumatic to see, with firefighters remaining until after midnight. She lost all of her possessions, including around $40,000 worth of beadwork and supplies, much of which she was preparing for the upcoming powwow season.

“Everything is burned completely. Nothing is salvageable. Everything is gone,” Frate said. “It was my daughter’s birthday on Friday, and everything she asked for, she got, and now it’s all burned down. Everything she’s ever owned was in that house, so it’s devastating.”

Between them, Frate and Beauvais have six other children. Those children at least have a second household of items, so they aren’t starting from scratch, Frate said, but it’s still been a trauma that’s rocked the extended family.

“The people we co-parent with, they’ve been amazing,” Frate said. “I’m trying to be positive, I’m glad it happened not in the middle of the night and we were able to get out and we just lost material things, but we did lose our home, and that’s probably the hardest thing, just not being in our own beds.”

Beauvais’ son, Ta’haiaiake Duke Beauvais, is six, and has been receiving support from his school, Karonhianónhnha Tsi Ionterihwaienstáhkhwa. This week, the school organized a social and a blanket dance to help him and his family.

His mother, Joy-Marie Canadian, said that her son is still coming to terms with what happened, and is mostly concerned that his father is okay after sustaining burns. She said she’s appreciative of Karonhianónhnha offering him mental health support and immediately taking action to host the blanket dance.

“I am beyond grateful for the community coming together to help my son and his family,” Canadian said. “Continuous support and help is needed. They lost everything, and as a community, we can help get them back on their feet.”

Don’s daughter, 21-year-old Adara Teiakohohton:nis Beauvais, has organized a GoFundMe to help her family rebuild - at the time of writing, nearly $6,500 has been raised in donations.

She said she’s also been moved by the community support, but that losing a lifetime of memories has been heartbreaking to process this week.

“It is honestly the most devastating thing my family and I have had to endure. We didn’t bond by going outside, going to theme parks, or social gatherings. We bonded in that home,” she said.

“We bonded through the television screen of old 80s movies, the warmness emanating from the kitchen from the most delicious home cooked meals, and my little brother, Duke, doing the silliest of things to keep us entertained. That house was always filled with laughter and joy.”

She said that it’s difficult to imagine not being able to return to the house.

“We feel lost, confused, and the thing that once kept our family glued together is now gone,” she said “With bad there is good, that good being the knowledge that my dad, Melissa, and my siblings are safe and sound. That is what’s most important to me.”

The community has already shown up for the family - as well as the GoFundMe, other community members have organized for clothing donations for the family, and orchestrated half-and-half fundraisers to help them rebuild.

Karahkwisakhe Horne is an organizer of one of the half-and-half fundraisers, and had raised just over $4,000 for the family by yesterday afternoon.

“I feel like it’s important to rally around families facing hardship,” Horne said. “That’s what we’re supposed to be about, it’s about community and taking care of one another during difficult times.”

Frate said that she’s been getting through the aftermath of the fire by holding onto the knowledge that the community is right behind her as she processes her family’s loss.

“We’re starting all over and that’s a struggle, we left with just the clothes on our backs, but seeing everyone in the community jump to help us, I’ve almost broken down with how happy that makes me,” she said. “It’s beautiful to see how our community looks out for each other. People I never expected to jump are jumping to help.”

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