Coast Mountain News Thursday, November 22, 2012
WWll Veteran Clarence Hall at the Wreath ceremony
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Vol. 28 | No. 24 Thursday, November 22, 2012
Serving the Bella Coola Valley and the Chilcotin
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Serving the Bella Coola Valley Page and the Chilcotin
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CoastMountainNews.com
The Bolton family home in 4-Mile. The fire started near the dryer and spread quickly.
Separate fires on same night leave several families homeless BY CAITLIN THOMPSON At least one local family is homeless after fire ripped through their two-story home in 4-Mile on Tuesday, November 13th. Ella Bolton, her partner Theo Nelson, and their four children were all home at the time of the blaze. “It started in the basement at about 6pm,” Ella said. “It
spread so fast we only had time to run out of the door. We didn’t even have time to put shoes on our feet.” It was Bolton’s eldest son, eleven-year old David, who initially smelled the smoke and alerted the rest of his family. “I was upstairs playing video games and I thought at first it was the oven, so I went to check,” he said. “As soon
as I left my room I could see the smoke coming out of the basement and I knew it was bad.” David yelled for his mom, who was in her room in the basement on the other side of the house and hadn’t yet smelled the smoke. “It was really lucky he was so quick to react,” said Ella. “I could have easily been trapped down there
as the fire spread so fast.” David and his ten-year old brother, Gary, and their friends, twelve-year olds Fa’avae Vaa and Kilhus Edgar, sprang into action and carried their younger siblings, five-year old Rhianna and three-year old Tayshaun, out of the burning building. They had nothing but the clothes on their back. Ella’s father, Verne Bolton,
who also lives in the home, was at the hospital visiting her mother, Brenda Bolton. Ella called him in tears, and Verne rushed to the scene to find the house ablaze, but everyone safe and sound. “The smoke was thick and black,” Verne said. “There was no way we could salvage SEE FIRE ON PAGE 3