A house in Kelowna was destroyed by fire, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. One of the people living in the home escaped with his life after a passerby banged on the door to alert him to the blaze.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Nathan Noble
November 04, 2021 - 11:35 AM
A Kelowna man awoke to banging on his door this week that might have saved his life as his home went up in flames.
Nathan Noble was asleep at roughly 7 a.m., Nov. 2, when he heard someone banging on the door.
“I was the only one in the house at the time… it was just some random passerby who said ‘your house is on fire,’" he said.
"I didn’t know it was that bad because there was no smoke coming into our place yet but I opened up the back door and sure enough, the whole back end was up in flames. I grabbed a pair of jeans and grabbed the cat and got out of the house.”
Noble and his two roommates along with another man in a separate suite have been displaced since their home was destroyed. They aren’t sure what caused the fire, but Nathan said it looked like it started in the separate suite.
The Kelowna Fire Department said it was investigating the cause but doesn't believe it was suspicious.
READ MORE: Fire crews extinguish house fire in Kelowna
His roommates are staying in a hotel provided by the Canadian Red Cross and he’s staying with his brother on the Westside.
None of them had renters insurance. A GoFundMe has been started by Nathan’s mother Barb Noble in an effort to raise $10,000 for him and his roommates.
“I first want to thank the stranger who woke him because it could have been a different out come," Barb said in the GoFundMe post. "The good news is they are all safe but are now left to start over again and have lost everything.
"The emergency services only helps them for 72 hours then after that they have no where to go... I am hoping to raise enough to give them a chance to replace the essentials and get a fresh start. It is hard enough in Kelowna for young adults to succeed without having to face this type of adversity.”
As of today, Nov. 4, it has raised more than $1,000.
“It’s been crazy how much people have been helping out, it’s awesome,” Nathan said, adding he has some friends and family in the area. “I’m grateful for all the help.”
He managed to escape the flames with some clothes and he doesn't have anything else.
“I’m still stressed out, having a bit of a hard time sleeping. It’s a crazy way to wake up, that’s for sure. I’m trying to stay positive and move forward with everything, it’s definitely not easy," he said.
Nathan and his family also want to find and personally thank the stranger who possibly saved his life.
“I definitely might not be alive if it wasn’t for him knocking on my door,” he said.
The GoFundMe can be found here.
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