Barbara and Peter Pelton of Clearwater are very thankful to be alive following a fire on Thurs. Jan. 25 that started around 11 p.m. and completely destroyed a detached shop next to their home in Sunshine Valley.
One of their two daughter, Candus Pelton-Graffunder, posted on social media on Fri. Jan. 26 how her mom called and told her their shop was on fire.
“It immediately took me back to April 1, 2003, when I received the same phone call from mom telling me their mill was on fire. Instantly my heart broke,” she wrote. “My husband Ryan, son, Jack and I raced over and tried to help save as much as we could. Which was absolutely nothing from inside or around the shop itself since it was so fully engulfed by then. But we believe that the five of us and our neighbors Ken and JF did save the house with what hoses we had. Their shop is only 20 feet from their house.”
Pelton-Graffunder described how her father, Pete has been restoring his 1957 Ford Fairlane taking it apart “piece by piece, bolt by bolt” as he sanded and painted it.
“It was so close to finally being finished, it looked absolutely amazing.” She said that many complimented him on “how well done everything was.” Now that car is gone along with a second car he was just starting to rebuild. “How do you comfort someone who just watched their dreams burn up again for the second time?” she asks.
In a conversation with Barb Pelton following the fire, she said they are both struggling to cope with the loss of the cars, two new electric bikes, her husband’s full collection of tools and equipment such as a ride on lawn mower, side-by-side ATV, snow blower and other assorted items.
“I’m just so glad we are alive. It’s a miracle. The fire melted the siding off that side of our house, our hot tub and had Pete not gotten up and seen the fire who knows what could have happened. He isn’t sure why he woke up when he did, but I’m sure thankful he did. Our kids, neighbours and the fire department were there quickly for us. The shop and contents weren’t insured, but those are material things. It wasn’t until I started thinking about the mill fire, we lived through years ago that the shock hit me. I’m so relieved my friend is coming over to stay with me for a bit.”
Pelton recalls that her husband wasn’t really doing much in the shop earlier that day and had actually cleaned out the wood stove and chimney, so the stove was cool. They still aren’t sure what could have caused the blaze.
“We are so fortunate to have such amazing first responders that volunteer and worked so hard and were there to help. They wouldn’t leave until they knew there was no risk to our home, coming inside to test the walls for heat or hot spots and making sure everything was safe before leaving us,” said Pelton.
She said that Peter was working on an idea to be able to fund raise for the legion by possibly donating one of the collector cars in the future. She said she’s been remembering when their mill burned down years earlier how the community rallied round to assist them in rebuilding the mill that provided jobs for people in the area and how Peter was given a special award to acknowledge how quickly he got things back up and operational then so their employees could “feed their families” putting their needs first.
“It’s heartbreaking for sure, but we are alive, and our house can be repaired. We are just so thankful tonight. It could’ve been so much worse, said Pelton, who is a long-time massage therapist known for offering comfort and support to those in similar situations in the area often over the years.
The Pelton’s daughter Candus praised the firefighters.
“The were top notch. We are very lucky to have them.”
