There乌鸦传媒檚 much work to be done at Urban Safari Rescue Society in South Surrey after a Saturday morning fire destroyed its front room, killing approximately 60 animals.
乌鸦传媒淲e lost all of the mammals 乌鸦传媒� the sugar gliders, the guinea pigs, the skinny pigs (hairless Guinea pigs), the birds乌鸦传媒� a lot of the reptiles 乌鸦传媒� we lost frogs, some geckos, some snakes and all of the fish except some of the betas,乌鸦传媒� said Pamala-Rose Combs, vice president on the rescue society乌鸦传媒檚 board of directors.
Surrey Fire Service assistant chief of operations Greg McRobbie confirmed dispatch received a call about a possible structure fire at the society乌鸦传媒檚 address, 1395 176 St., at 8:54 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 28) and noted 18 firefighters responded.
乌鸦传媒淭hey made entry into the building and found light to moderate smoke conditions乌鸦传媒� there was a small fire contained to a heating unit on one of the animal cages.乌鸦传媒�
A power outage had happened the night before, Combs said, and when the power came back on, 乌鸦传媒渋t came back with a surge that overpowered the surge protector that was powering a snake tank.乌鸦传媒�
The front room houses a lot of smaller animals and species, such as bugs and spiders, so about 200 of the rescue乌鸦传媒檚 approximately 325 animals were in the room that had the fire.
乌鸦传媒淓verybody wants to know what happened to the cockroaches 乌鸦传媒� the hissing Madagascar cockroaches,乌鸦传媒� Combs noted.
乌鸦传媒淥ne died out of 100 so they mostly made it.乌鸦传媒�
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Right now, she and staff and volunteers are 乌鸦传媒渇ocusing on what needs to be done乌鸦传媒� and trying to set aside the sad aspects of the fire and its aftermath.
乌鸦传媒淲hen we start to focus on the animals that didn乌鸦传媒檛 make it and the animals that we may still lose and the amount of work that乌鸦传媒檚 involved it can get a little overwhelming,乌鸦传媒� she said Sunday.
乌鸦传媒淭he risk we乌鸦传媒檙e facing now is secondary respiratory infections.乌鸦传媒�
Two separate veterinarians are visiting in the next few days to help assess and treat the remaining animals, all of whom have been moved to a different part of the rescue or temporarily fostered off-site.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e still in triage but coming out, I think.. we乌鸦传媒檙e looking at the clean up 乌鸦传媒� everything is covered with a thick layer of soot,乌鸦传媒� Combs said.
乌鸦传媒淲hen you start adding up the costs of everything 乌鸦传媒� all the tanks, the furniture, new front door locks乌鸦传媒� it乌鸦传媒檚 just adding up. We don乌鸦传媒檛 know how much insurance will cover. We乌鸦传媒檙e hoping we乌鸦传媒檒l hear from the (insurance) adjuster Monday or Tuesday.乌鸦传媒�
In the meantime, they乌鸦传媒檙e buying heaters to help keep all of the animals that were moved warm, as well as replacing every single power bar and electrical cord because they don乌鸦传媒檛 know what was affected in the fire.
The room will need to be 乌鸦传媒渃ompletely gutted乌鸦传媒� with rewiring likely required as well, she said.
Even as they deal with the mess, there乌鸦传媒檚 been 乌鸦传媒渓ittle rays of hope.乌鸦传媒�
They had thought the pixie frog was dead, but it turns out, he乌鸦传媒檇 just stayed under water long enough to wait out the fire and smoky environment.
乌鸦传媒淲e went in today to clean out his tank, thinking he was gone 乌鸦传媒� and he moved!乌鸦传媒� she said.
A small boa named Solo also made it, thanks to the fact he had just been switched to a tank that fell in the fire, breaking the top so he could escape.
乌鸦传媒淗e lost an eye he may lose his other eye, but he乌鸦传媒檚 alive and he seems to be doing well!乌鸦传媒�
The乌鸦传媒檙e hoping the mounting costs will be offset by a fundraiser, one that has been ongoing.
About $2,000 of the GoFundMe is current, but the bulk of it is from 2020 to some time last year, Combs said, noting she didn乌鸦传媒檛 want to start a brand new account when one was already active.
Help is needed for cleanup efforts, an they乌鸦传媒檙e trying to keep everyone as updated as possible through the society乌鸦传媒檚 Facebook site.
乌鸦传媒淥ne of the heart warming moments in all this heartbreak is the sheer volume of support coming form the public,乌鸦传媒� Combs said.
乌鸦传媒淭o see it and to see all the people showing up here to help乌鸦传媒� knowing we still mean something to the community and that they still care about us 乌鸦传媒� it means so much in all of this.乌鸦传媒�
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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