"This fire has taken everything from us," Christmas Day fire survivor Brenda Fehr

A house fire destroyed a four-plex in Winkler on Christmas day on Royal Crescent. Brenda Fehr and Frank Ketler lived in one of the residences, and have lost almost everything. 

Brenda recalled the night of the fire. 

"At 10:30 in the evening, we were actually woken up to the smell of smoke, and we opened the back door, and the police were there, and they told us we had to get out quickly. I sadly had to tell them my husband needed their assistance to get out of the home, because he is actually very ill. He suffers from lupus and kidney failure, and this year added Parkinson's to the to the mix, as well. So, they carried him out, and they put us in the police car, and sadly we sat there watching our place burn," she said breaking into tears. 

(Submitted photo) Frank and Brenda Fehr

This is not the first round of hardship for the couple. Some may recall their story from the summer.  

"It was definitely a very hard ending to 2023 for us. The year has been difficult, to say the least. I've actually had to put up my story before on PembinaValleyOnline, because my husband's bike had been stolen. I told the story to (Reporter) Robyn Wiebe, and the community was so good to us. I never thought I'd have to call on them again." 

Brenda's first call was to her boss the night of the fire. Within half an hour, he was there to pick them up, and then he paid to put them in a hotel, where they are staying now, noting without this, they would have no place to go.  

Brenda explained why they don't have renter's insurance.  

"Frank's illness for the last three years has been very, very expensive. Being sick is not a cheap thing. All my finances were very much focused strictly on him, and we had no renter's insurance, nothing we had in there is going to be covered at all. I just never thought... never, never thought this would ever happen. I just had always figured well, as long as he gets his medication, we can take care of that and then... I just never thought we would have a fire." 

Brenda struggled through tears to tell the story. 

"This fire has taken everything from us as far as belongings go, but we're together, me and my husband, and we are safe, and that's really what matters. All the memories are gone, but we can always make more because we're still here. I'm trying my hardest to not be angry, because I don't want to live as an angry person, so I'm trying to find the good. There's been so much already. People around me have been unbelievable. Unbelievable the kindness of Winkler, there are no words to describe it, really." 

With the water and smoke damage, most items are not salvageable, as Fehr tried to wash some of her clothes several times to try to get the smell out.  

She said it's been difficult with no place to live, feeling like they don't belong, living in limbo. 

One of her coworker's sister, Kaleigh Peters, has stepped forward to lead the charge in helping Brenda and Frank start over.  

Brenda Fehr and Kaleigh Peters had never met before the fire.

Peters works at Maurices Clothing Store in Winkler, and has been instrumental in getting brand new clothing for Brenda and Frank, giving praise to the store for providing discounts and gift cards to help them. She was surprised to hear Fehr had never gone shopping for new clothes before.  

Peters confirmed the medical expenses are unreal for them, and would like to do anything to help them, adding it's amazing how helpful the community has been so far.  

Peters has started a GoFundMe page "Help Brenda and frank! " for people to help the couple rebuild their lives, and continue to support them, as Frank is not well at this time. 

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, PembinaValleyOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PembinaValleyOnline app.