As everyone probably knows by now, there was a fatal fire on West Winspear Ave this morning. Unfortunately the upstairs occupant and his dog did not survive the fire. The family living on the first floor (mother and two girls) were able to get out of the house safely and are currently staying with relatives in the area.
We have to assume that the family will not be able to salvage their belongings. If you want to help, the UHC and the West Winspear Block Club are taking donations of clothes and other household goods. Please contact info@ourheights.org to coordinate a drop off. The girls are 8 and 13. They need clothes size: girl’s 14-16 and women’s 3x. Shoes are also needed: girl’s 2-2.5 and women’s 11 (or men’s 12)
The West Winspear Block Club has set up a GoFundMe page where contributions can be made to help support this family: https://gofund.me/db3a0a9d
The Red Cross was on the scene this morning, if you prefer to donate through them, you can use this link: https://www.redcross.org/
This is also an excellent time to replace batteries in your smoke detectors and ensure that your entryways are clear enough for emergency personnel. If you have a landlord that has not supplied you with smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, please report it using 311 right away. The UHC will be happy to help purchase smoke detectors for anyone who needs them.
This morning was awful, but we are fortunate that firefighters and first responders could quickly get to the house. Last Thursday, the recycling truck couldn’t make it down Winspear because cars were parked on both sides of the road near the top of the street. We do not want to consider how much worse a fire like this could have been if trucks couldn’t get through. Our houses are very close together, and seconds count in an emergency.
Please be mindful of alternate parking. While annoying, it is a matter of public safety. You can report cars that violate alternate parking by calling 311 or using the 311 app. Of course, if you know whose car it is and have a few extra mins go ahead and knock on their door and ask them to move.