Moncton group fundraising after family loses everything in fire

A Moncton organization is helping a family who lost everything in a house fire on Lutz Street earlier in March.

Jason Surette, the founder of the group Big Hearts Small City, works closely with the Red Cross to help victims of fires to get back on their feet.

"The Red Cross puts them up for up to three days in a hotel but after that they kind of fall off the tracks, there's no official help out there for them," Surette said.

After the fire on Lutz Street, Surette, along with the group Blankets for Moncton, have been helping the family, who didn't have insurance, to collect household goods.

"Basically, whatever you have in your home, someone is going to need if they lose everything in a fire," he said.

"You don't really realize what you've got until you lose it ... most people leave with the shirts on their backs after a fire."

Surette said his group has also been working with local landlords to help the family to find a new apartment quickly.

"We have special arrangements with most of the major apartment owners in the Moncton area," he said.

"We can call them day or night and if they have space available they work to try to expedite the application process to get them into an apartment within a day or two."

Surette said besides a new home, the most urgent need for the family is beds.

"Beds seems to be the one thing that doesn't usually get donated and when we say beds we want to have beds that are clean and no issues," he said.

He is planning an ice bowling fundraiser on March 21 in the old Moncton High School parking lot to raise money for Big Hearts Small City.