Fiona France was pulled from her burning trailer in the early morning hours of July 15. She is pictured in this undated photo holding one of her grandchildren.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK -Fiona France

KAMLOOPS - Fiona France died from injuries sustained in a mobile home fire last Monday. Today would have been her birthday, but instead of celebrating, her family and friends are planning her celebration of life.

Allison Rossum and Chantille Coates are Fiona France’s daughters, and have dealt with tumultuous family relationships, but say their mom had a “huge heart.”

“Regardless of the things that went on between us, she's still my mom and I still love her with all my heart and she still loves me with all her heart,” Rossum said.

Their brother, Dallas France, lived with his mother on-and-off, and has a history with drug use and jail, according to both sisters. The death of their mother has acted as a bonding agent for the siblings.

“I probably will send him a message today. It’s my mom's birthday today, so my sister is having a hard time with it and it's just really hard to talk over the phone because there's just so much crying and I just wish I could see their faces today and last week,” Rossum said.

Rossum lives in Port Hardy and will come to Kamloops next month to be with her siblings and attend their mother’s celebration of life. Plans for the celebration are underway, with the family expecting to set a date in late August. There is a Facebook group to commemorate France’s life and to post updates on the memorial.

After the celebration of life in Kamloops, Rossum will take her mom’s ashes back to her hometown of Port Hardy.

“What she wanted was to have part of her ashes spread on the beach out in front of where she grew up... her dad’s ashes will also be spread at the same time as hers,” Rossum says. “We actually have our own graveyard here that has all of my immediate family members in it, and there will be a headstone there for her.”

Rossum says although being away from her brother and sister is tough, she is surrounded by supporters and well-wishers in Port Hardy.

“This is where she grew up, she was born and raised here so there's still a lot of people that have a lot of fond memories,” Rossum says. “It’s really hard for me right now to even go into public because I can't walk like five feet without many people approaching me and wanting to hug me and give me support.”

Although arson has been ruled out, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Rossum says her mom took fire safety precautions such as battery operated candles and never smoked inside.

“She was a smoker but she never would have been smoking inside her place and she never would've allowed anyone else to smoke inside her house,” Rossum says. “The place she rented was an older place so it could've been electrical and there were issues with the furnace in the winter.”

Coates, the youngest of the three siblings, says she was at her mother’s home and tucked her in the night of the fire.

She says her mother was very loving to her and her brother. Coates adds that regardless of the incidents, her mother had a “huge heart” and would always bring her children in and loved them unconditionally.

“She said if you have relationship problems, you come to stay with me. I'm not going to see my daughter on the street,” Coates says.

Both sisters recognize the strain that their mother's death has put on their brother.

“It really, really hurts Dallas,” Coates says. “Mom and him were really close together.”

A Go Fund Me has been set up to help with funeral expenses and Dallas will be the beneficiary of the funds, as he had belongings in the trailer, according to the Go Fund Me page.

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