It wasn’t just Grandma and Grandpa’s lives that were turned upside down by the Geikie Street fire: on Feb. 3 their tenant, Eric Clancy, also had to watch his home as it was gutted by flames.
Clancy works for Jasper Wine Merchants, and when the fire erupted he was out on a delivery. In an interview Feb. 9 he remembered that he was driving in the opposite direction and for a while didn’t even see the fire. But then, just as he was hearing fire engines hit the road, his phone went berserk.
Once he got the news he hoofed it back to work and dropped off the keys to the delivery car. Next he raced to Geikie Street, “and then it was just the realization of what had happened and what’s actually going on.”
He found some friends, and together they gaped in awe as the flames spewed inky smoke into the air. He remembered his mind racing with question after question.
“There’s really nothing else you can do at that point except thank God I wasn’t in the house.”
As he stood in front of his home, he thought, “This is not a dream where you can wake up and go and grab a glass of water and go back to sleep, this is real life, and like, what is this? How did this happen?
“There were just a million questions running through my head.”
The next few days were “a complete blur.” Clancy said he didn’t have to go back to work right away, so he spent a lot of time with his friends.
“It seemed like the only thing to do was to pretty much drink. I’m not going to lie, Lucky Lager made some business the last couple of days,” he joked.
“It’s almost like the beer didn’t phase me. I was drinking the pain away, but that’s not a way to deal with any problems or any situation really, but it was just shock and awe. Like, what the hell? Where do I live, what do I do, where do I begin?”
Losing his home was a huge deal for Clancy, because for him it represented a kind of security, and the healthy place his life was in.
For most of this life he had lived with roommates. To finally have his own spot, and to be able to go to the store and pick up something for his home, felt really good.
But his apartment was more than just a place to live. He said that his landlords, Grandpa and Grandma Han, treated him almost like family.
“You’d think it’s just another apartment, but it seemed like more to me. I wasn’t treated like a tenant, I was treated like a member of a family.”
Clancy has no family in Jasper, but the Hans, especially Grandma, nurtured him. He said he would often come home from a long night shift, when everything was closed, hungry and not up to making dinner. And there, hanging on his door, would be a meal, complete with a little note from the couple wishing him well.
“Thinking about stuff like that kills me the most.”
When he finally went back to work he was still a little shaken, and wondering what he would do.
But the community was already well aware of what had happened to him, and support had come flooding in from friends and community members. He was (and still is) staying at a friend’s apartment, and recalled feeling like almost everything he needed was replaced within a day.
He said he is overwhelmed with the support Jasper has given him, and it’s that support that’s encouraged him to stay positive.
“Jasper itself is just restoring my faith in humanity,” he said. “I’ve never seen a town come together for someone—and for me to be that someone is crazy.”
People he has never met before have come up to him and consoled him, or donated things to him, and his friends have been amazing and supportive.
Just a few days after the fire a Go Fund Me campaign appeared online, and in just four days it had raised more than $2,000.
“All I want to do is frown, but all I can do is smile, because of Jasper,” Clancy said.
He said that recently, when he was on a delivery, someone literally took the shoes off of their feet to give to him. As soon as he showed up the customer recognized him, and took him into the house, filling a duffel bag full of items to help him.
“When stuff like that happens you just melt down,” he said.
Clancy said he is in good spirits now. On Feb. 9 he spoke with positive and upbeat energy, and couldn’t say enough about how great Jasperites have been to him.
“My hand would fall off trying to write down every single name of every single person who leant a hand.”
Another fundraiser is already in the works for Clancy, planned for Feb. 18 at the Atha-B Nightclub. The event will feature special guests and a local artists open jam, as well as a 50/50 raffle and door prizes, including a keg of beer from the Liquor Lodge, a $300 guitar from the Jasper Dollar Store, a set of Nixon headphones from Jasper Source for Sports and more.
For more information check out the Eric Clancy Fundraiser event on Facebook. Any artists wishing to perform at the show are also encouraged to contact Shane at 931-5957 or Scott at 820-1695.
Trevor Nichols
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