91原创 Township鈥檚 longest-serving sitting councillor lost his Fernridge home to a fire in November.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 wish that on anybody at all,鈥� said Councillor Steve Ferguson, whose home on 24th Avenue caught fire at about 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, after a family next door reported seeing flames.

The fire began in an outbuilding, and from there jumped into the cedar shakes on the roof, Ferguson said.

His wife Denise Ferguson said that her son was home asleep, but fortunately someone kicked in the front door and warned him about the fire.

鈥淲e were very fortunate,鈥� she said.

The worse loss of the fire was the family鈥檚 cat, Puddy, which didn鈥檛 escape.

鈥淚f we would鈥檝e had her, it wouldn鈥檛 have hurt as much,鈥� Denise said.

Steve Ferguson said that with the roof burning, firefighters soaked the building. That mean a tremendous amount of water damage.

The family has recovered a few things, but anything that they didn鈥檛 get out in the first few days has essentially been destroyed by smoke, water, and exposure to the elements.

He said firefighters showed up quickly.

鈥淭hey did the best they could to protect the house,鈥� he said.

The family is now renting a home long-term in the Township.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been hard on the whole family,鈥� he noted.

The fire and work on relocating has made it a little hard to focus on council matters at times, he said.

鈥淚t slows me down a bit with the council,鈥� said Steve. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in a bit of a fog, because there鈥檚 so many things happening.鈥�

Once the roof has been fully removed, the family will consider reconstruction plans, he said.

READ MORE: 91原创 Township firefighters rush to a three-storey home on fire Friday afternoon

The Township council recently voted to increase the number of firefighters being hired in 91原创, with 44 more expected to arrive over the next four years.

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