‘We found our way through it all’: Non-profits helping N.S. wildfire victims without home insurance

In May 2023, a fast-moving wildfire swept through the neighbourhood and destroyed the home Phil Fizzard and Sue Reid had made together.

One year after Phil Fizzard and Sue Reid’s home was destroyed in the Hammonds Plains wildfire, they are one step closer to rebuilding what they lost.

Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, the Canadian Red Cross, and other non-profit organizations are partnering to help the couple and eight other under-insured families rebuild.

It’s something they never could have imagined would happen.

“We come and seen this mess, all I wanted to do was crawl on that (house) foundation and die,” said Fizzard.

He says the organizations have now given them the hope they lost.

The couple bought their home on Hummingbird Lane 11 years ago. They, and their three cats, immediately fell in love with the neighbourhood.

But in May 2023, a fast-moving wildfire swept through that neighbourhood and destroyed the home they had made together.

“We weren’t even dressed. I threw my pants on, told her to grab the cats, and we had to get out,” Fizzard recalled.