Ten-year-old cousins perish in house fire in northern Alberta

January 17, 2006 -
GRIMSHAW, Alta. (CP) -- A woman whose young daughter and niece died in a house fire early Thursday, Jan. 12, says she's can't take any more tragedy in her life -- six years ago she lost another daughter and her ex-husband in a fire.

Veronica Danais, 39, wasn't at home when the blaze broke out about 12:45 a.m., killing her 10-year-old daughter Tina Lorraine Glowaski and 10-year-old niece Tataya Myra Danais.

``I don't understand it,' Danais said. ``I don't think the reality has set in. I'm numb.'

The woman's 13-year-old daughter Cheredene Glowaski was also home at the time and tried to rescue the younger girls from the basement, but couldn't get through the thick smoke.

``I'm happy she got out,' Danais said. ``This is the second time she escaped from a house fire. The last time she had smoke inhalation. This time she was OK.'

In February of 2000, Cheredene was found unconscious in a closet and rushed to hospital after a fire broke out in her father's home in Grande Prairie, Alta.

The kitchen blaze claimed the lives of Danais' nine-year-old daughter, Melinda Glowaski, and ex-husband, Lawrence Glowaski.

While she declined to talk about where she was at the time of Thursday's fire, Danais said her fiance, Derwyn Yleen, 32, had been working out of town.

``I thought about how things could've been done differently,' she said. ``I can't see any change.'

The deaths rocked the small community, located about 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

``It's bad,' said a distraught Rose Podolchuk, a neighbour of the family's. ``I saw (firefighters) pull them out of the window there and I said, `oh my God, if I'd known I would have come and tried to help them if I could.' '

Lawrence Arnold, chief of the town's volunteer fire department, said the tragedy had taken its toll on his firefighters.

``It's been hard on my fire department,' he said. ``It's going to be a tough one.'

All day long, neighbours and young children stopped by the charred remains of the house to contribute to a growing pile of teddy bears and notes placed as a memorial by a tree out front.

``Fly With the Angels, Tina,' read one note. ``I will miss you.'

At Kennedy Elementary school, where the two young cousins were students, a pair of small running shoes and a single white rose sat on an empty desk and chair in a Grade 3 classroom.

Flags flew at half-mast and many of the 245 students lined up to scribble messages into a memorial book for the friends they lost.

``It's been a sombre day for us,' said Andrew Stuckey of the Peace River School Division. ``Anytime you have a loss of life like this, with two young innocent, beautiful children, it's a difficult experience.'

Grief counsellors were brought in to the school to help the children.

Source: CP, Jan 13, 2006