If you see the Kobus family smiling, it's because of the outpouring of support from the community after their home at 7776 Redrooffs Rd. was destroyed by fire Friday, July 28.
"The support from the community has been outstanding, phenomenal. That's how we're getting through this, and we're smiling because we know that support is there," Rick Kobus said.
He and his wife Andrea awoke at about 2:30 a.m. when an explosion in the basement below their bedroom caused their bed to jump.
Their children, Sean, 14, and Connor, 11, were awake that morning, having watched a scary movie with a friend who was staying for a sleepover that night.
"It's the only time the kids weren't in trouble for staying up so late," Rick said, noting as soon as the kids heard the explosion they ran outside.
Within minutes a fire had fully engulfed their garage and was quickly moving up through their home.
Rick and Andrea saw the kids were safe and quickly ran out of the home themselves. Rick picked up a garden hose to douse the flames but realized it was futile.
"I guess everyone tries that, but it was really a joke," Rick said.
He had time to move the family's vehicles away from the fire, and within nine minutes the Halfmoon Bay Fire Department was on scene.
"When the first truck got there, the flames were pretty much through the roof and blowing towards the house next door," Halfmoon Bay fire chief Greg Phelps said.
Rick was worried about his neighbour's property or the risk of a wildfire starting from the blaze.
"I felt bad enough that my house was gone, but having the fire spread to someone else's house would be very hard to take," he said.
The fire department knocked the blaze down within an hour, and after three hours all the embers had been extinguished."It was difficult to tackle because we couldn't go inside the structure. It was rickety and had a partial roof and partial walls hanging," Phelps said.
Rick praises the fire department for arriving so quickly and saving surrounding properties from damage.
"They did a fabulous job," he said.
Once the smoke cleared, it was obvious nothing was salvageable from the Kobus home. "It was a total loss," Phelps said.Investigators surveyed the scene the next day but couldn't find any cause of fire.
In the meantime, neighbours of the Kobus family rallied around them. Friend Mokie Barabash-Burnham set up donation drop off points for the essentials the family would need.
"By 8 a.m. the next morning, Mokie had set up collections for us. We feel really lucky to have friends like that," Rick said.The family moved in with Rick's mother in Pender Harbour for a few days following the fire and soon found a place to rent near Halfmoon Bay Elementary School.
On Wednesday when Coast Reporter spoke to the family, they were on their way to Andrea's mom's house in Abbotsford and planned to do some clothing shopping in town.
The family had fire insurance that will cover the damage done, and Rick expects to have a new house built on their property by next summer.
"It's been tough, but we can't even walk down the street without getting hugs and support from people. Every day gets a little bit better," Rick said.
