George and Marlene Mysel formerly of 1888 Barcelo Rd. are planning to rebuild their home following a fire that destroyed it on on Feb. 7 a family member said.

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CAWSTON - A Cawston couple will not be budged from their property despite last year's flash flood and a Feb. 7 fire which destroyed their home.

George and Marlene Mysel used to live at 1888 Barcelo Road but on Friday last week their house caught fire and burned to the ground. The couple and their dog, Tonka the Pomeranian, made it out safely thanks to their son, Bryan Horrocks, who lived next door.

Bryan's spouse, Cindy Horrocks, said her in-laws are doing well. They might have been emotional on Friday but on Saturday they were making plans for rebuilding their home. George and Marlene moved into Bryan's basement suite.

"They are coping remarkably well. I would be a blithering idiot," Cindy said. "They're just taking it for what it is, another step in life and they're carrying on."

Cindy was home the day the fire broke. She was getting ready to take her father-in-law George to a doctor's appointment in Kelowna. Bryan had already walked over to his parent's house to have coffee with his mom. At some point he began to hear popping and crackling sounds.

Cindy said he investigated and found fire running up the interior walls of his parent's garage where a pickup truck and a van were parked. Both vehicles were later incinerated. Bryan was once a volunteer firefighter and tried to put the flames out but he noticed something about the garage's ceiling.

"There was a trap door in the ceiling. He looked up and it was rolling waves of fire up there," she said. Bryan realized there was nothing he could do. "He ran back into the house and told them you have a fire and you got to get out."

Before they left the house to the flames the family started tossing clothes out the bedroom window. Cindy grabbed Tonka and returned to her home to call 911 to make sure the firefighters were on their way.

"I turned around and ran back and the flames were already out of the roof," she said. "Bryan managed to run back in and get Marlene's mother's tea trolley, a couple of coats and a pair of boots for each of them. And that was that."

Firefighters from Osoyoos and Keremeos fought the blaze for eight hours. There were embers and bits of debris floating down but nothing came of it. The crews also called in heavy machines to deal with a large pile of burning firewood behind the older couple's home.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @InfoNewsPentict.

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