For the foreseeable future, every morning when Roxanne Chabot wakes up and looks out of her front window she will be reminded of the fire that decimated her childhood home.

Chabot lives about a thirty-second walk from her parents’ residence in Marchand. A self-proclaimed “daddy’s girl” she says she never wanted to be too far from the people who raised her. Unfortunately, because of a freak incident this past weekend, Chabot will not be living on the same property as her parents any time soon. A blaze stemming from an overheated wall multiplier ignited the Chabot family house Saturday afternoon.

Moments before the fire ravaged their belongings, homeowners Billy and Sharon had enjoyed a nice lunch together. The pair had then left the building to split some logs for their wood stove.

“Then my stepmom had to go back inside to use the washroom,” retells Chabot. “She came back to a smoke-filled house, alarms going off, and animals panicking.”

The family owned two dogs and a cat which immediately became the priority. According to Chabot, her father busted down the screen door to allow the frightened pets to escape. Both dogs made it out unscathed, but the cat was only found the following day; asphyxiated and trapped under a bed frame. While perhaps the saddest casualty, the pet was not the only beloved thing lost in the inferno. In the wreckage of what was once their kitchen, lay shattered dishes, melted appliances, and memories that are entirely irreplaceable.

“It’s difficult to believe it’s all gone,” says Chabot, through tears. “All of those memories… all of those fun times… all of those gatherings.”

Even in her adult life, Chabot says she would look forward to going to mom and dad’s place. Whether it was for supper or a conversation, the house was a safe haven. She says her three kids felt that way too, perhaps even more so.

“It is going to be a challenge because they’ve known it as that place they were always welcome. They would come here every day, sometimes four times a day. This was like a second home to them and they watched it burn.”

While Chabot herself was not home when the house ignited, she says the scene is clearly etched into her the minds of her children. Summarizing her feelings in two choice words, “it sucks,” she says.