May 19, 2022 Vol. 22, No. 20
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Jackson-Walker Family Loses Home To Fire In Keelerville, Near Battersea
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outh Frontenac Fire Chief Darcy Knott enacted a Level 1 Fire ban late last week, because of dry conditions which led to several grass fires throughout the township. One of those grass fires came as a secondary fire at the scene of a devastating house fire that claimed a family home and three pets on Tuesday, May 10. Jill Jackson, Jeff Walker, and their son Jackson Walker, were not home at the time. “The fire was called in from a passerby who saw the flames and smoke. It was not surprising, therefore, that when our crews got to the house it was already fully engaged and there was no way to save the structure,” Chief Knott said. The firefighters had a lot to contend with at the site. Two large propane tanks were spewing flames and had to be brought safely under control in order to burn off the contents. And then the grass caught on fire. The ensuing wildfire extended for two acres and began to threaten neighbouring homes, but the fire crews were able to get it under control before any further damage to property was done. “It was an active scene,” he said, “we had to have different crews address different aspects, and we called in support from the Leeds and a Thousand Islands department [based in nearby Seely's Bay] to help us out, which we very much appreciate.” The cause of the fire cannot be determined because the damage was so great, and it is being classed as an accidental fire of undetermined cause. For the Jackson family, who lost everything, including three pets, the loss has been devastating. “The worst part was the loss of our animals,” said Jill
Jackson, “that has been very hard, on all of us but especially our son.” The family are staying at a cabin at the Loughborough Inn, where Jill works, for the time being and are looking for a rental location in the area. They plan to rebuild. The house was located on a lot that was severed from Jill’s family’s farm. The front of the house faced two creeks, feeding Horseshoe Lake. The couple built the house themselves 17 years ago, with Jill acting as general contractor. They were both at work when the fire started, Jeff at his family beef farm near Odessa, Jill at the Loughborough Inn, and Jackson was at Storrington Public School, where he is in grade 8. Jeff was the first to know about the fire, because a device in the home notified him about the fire alarm. It took a few anxious meetings for him to be sure that neither Jill nor Jackson were at the house. The family gathered at the home to see the fire crews working to save what they could. “It went up so fast,” she said of the house, “so fast.” While they are devastated by the fire, and having trouble coming to terms with what Jill called “something I would not wish on my worst enemy,” they expressed tremendous gratitude to their neighbours and the local
community, for stepping up. “There has been so much kindness and support. I always knew we lived in a great community but I never knew how wonderful it is until now.” A Gofundme page has been set up – Jeff, Jill, and Jackson’s Fire Relief Fund, and it has raised $5,880 so far. Fire crews were called out a couple of days later to a garage fire, also in the Battersea area, and Jeff, Jill, and Jackson could hear the sirens as fire crews sped to the scene. “That was really upsetting for us,” said Jill “We won-
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6th Covid Wave Is Gradually Decreasing, But Infection Rates Remain High By Jeff Green r. Piotr Oglaza, the Medical Officer of Health in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, brought some muted good news to a media briefing last week. Detection of Omicron in municipal wastewater, which Dr. Oglaza said has been providing “excellent information with regard to disease activity” has been in decline and he also said the hospital data has been “very reassuring”. However, the continued high rate of infection, 506 active cases among the limited number of people who are eligible for testing, and a 11% positive testing rate, were also on his mind. “The 6th wave is gradually decreasing, we are not in the clear yet, and activity is still high in the region.” Hopefully, he said, in the coming weeks, aided by the warm weather which makes all respiratory diseases less prevalent, disease activity in the region will drop to a very low level. “Until then, all of the measures that people have been following, all along, staying home when sick, hand hygiene, masking, will continue to be effective.” “The high rate of vaccination in the region, including the highest rate of booster uptake in the province, has provided the best layer of protection for those who are among the most at risk of severe disease,” he said. Unfortunately, the death rate from COVID-19 in the region continues to rise, with 6 deaths in the seven-day period ending on Thursday, May 12, even as the provincial
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death rate keeps dropping. Even though, for confidentiality reasons, KFL&A Public Health (KFLAPH) does not release details about individuals, Dr. Oglaza indicated that the bulk of the COVID deaths in KFL&A over the past few months, have been among the most senior and frail among us. “It is a sad reality. People whose immunity is compromised by virtue of advanced age, are the most vulnerable. Infections, including COVID, that might not result in severe illness among the younger, healthier population, can result in pneumonia, and there is also a risk of death in this population. The situation would be much worse if we did not have so many layers of protection in place.” Community vaccine clinics are scheduled in communities across the region in the coming weeks, and pharmacies are also offering vaccination services for all eligible residents “We recommend that people take advantage of all the vaccination doses that they are eligible for,” said Dr. Oglaza. Thanks to changes in provincial requirements for case tracking, and other changes in the demands on the resources of KFLAPH, the agency has been able to begin addressing a backlog in other services, such as dental screening, and childhood immunization. Efforts to deal with other critical issues, such as what has been identified widely as an opioid crisis in the region, are able to be better resourced as well. ■
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