Quebec Town, Firefighters Gather $40,000 for Boy Orphaned by Apartment Fire

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Residents of Quebec town, Les Coteaux, which saw a dreadful house fire kill an entire family except a single 8-year-old child, Mathis Gagnon, has successfully collected more than $40,000 for the lone survivor. Most prominently, the firefighters are collecting donations for the boy who lost his family just before Christmas. Gagnon woke up from comma in a hospital on Christmas Day, where he was admitted since Dec. 23. According to his great-grandmother, he asked right away if his parents were gone.

The apartment fire killed Gagnon’s 37-year-old father Patrick Gagnon, 32-year-old mother Karine Desrochers-Gauthier, his two-year-old brother Felix and four-year-old sister Lorie. Local firefighters have even set up a roadblock voluntarily, where they are taking donations by slowing cars on a nearby highway to raise funds. Moreover, people are also asked to drop off donations at the Metro supermarket or town hall in neighbouring Saint-Zotique. According to the officials, the boy will live with his aunt and her family when he leaves the hospital.

Town councilor, Francois Deschamps, mentioned in his remarks that “we’ve had some people from Florida sending us emails to support the family,” adding that “we’ve also had some people from Germany, from France, who have been supporting us as well.” Although the firefighters have alleged that they believe the fire resulted from a lit cigarette, the official report determining the cause of fire is yet to come. Meanwhile, Lac St-François fire chief, Michel Pitre, has confirmed that firefighters did not find any smoke detectors in the apartment.

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