A Sarnia fire victim is using his experience to remind others to check their smoke alarms.
Sarnia Fire Rescue responded to a fire at a two-storey rental home on Ross Avenue on Sunday, December 1.
Gerald Ladouceur said he's very thankful to a passerby who alerted his son and friend at the home to the fire, which started outside.
"I would like to find the person," said Ladouceur. "It was an off-duty firefighter that went by. My son was in the basement, his buddy was there hanging around and was watching a football game on the couch. The off-duty firefighter basically knocked once, booted the door open and let our friend on the couch know there was a fire, he had no idea. Then he went downstairs and alerted my son."
Ladouceur said you never think something like this will happen to you.
"I've reached out to some people and in my social media posts I've suggested that they check their insurance and their smoke detectors," he said. "My one family member checked their smoke detectors, there weren't even any batteries in them. So, if that's the case perhaps their insurance may have been void if they had an incident happen which would be very disastrous for anybody."
Sarnia Fire Rescue said the blaze extended into the attic and damage is estimated at $150,000.
Ladouceur said they lost just about everything, including a vehicle damaged in the fire.
"My son and myself live in the home and we have kids that come part-time so we had a lot of stuff," he said. "Looking, thinking about it you realize how much. It's just stuff, it can be replaced but there are a few special items, especially with the kids that we would really like for them to have their memories."
A GoFundMe page has since been launched by a family friend to help Gerald and his son to help replace items lost in the fire.