Out of the ashes: Volunteers help Adam's Cove wildfire victims recover irreplaceable items
A wildfire destroyed 12 homes in Adam's Cove in early May
A group of volunteer veterans, first responders and other skilled civilians are helping residents in Adam's Cove recover precious items from their homes that were destroyed in a wildfire in early May.
Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that responds to natural disasters like forest fires.
"We came in as a humanitarian organization to sift through the homes to help the homeowners find anything that's valuable or [a] memento," said N.L. team lead Matthew Barron.
"Could be diamond rings, wedding rings. Sometimes we found valuables like gold or silver," said Barron. "Just mementos that they were afraid they might have lost."
The wildfire destroyed 12 homes in the community, leaving lots of burned debris. Alongside sifting, Barron said they will also remove any hazardous trees and other dangers.
Team Rubicon sent volunteers from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ottawa to help out in Adam's Cove.
The organization was founded in 2010 by a U.S. veteran after the Haiti earthquake. It than grew and established itself in Canada after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
Now the organization is expanding and looking to help more communities impacted by disasters, like wildfire in Conception Bay North.
This is the team's first operation in N.L. and they're forming a volunteer base in the province.
Barron says Team Rubicon is filling in the gaps for disaster relief.
"There's nobody else in Canada who is doing sifting operations for homeowners and nobody who is doing muck outs or doing chainsaw work."
Rewarding work for volunteers
Barron says the victims have been grateful for their help.
"I mean it's helpful to give them closure," said Barron. "Everybody here is a volunteer and we don't do it for anything other than it just feels great to help people in their time of need when they've literally lost everything."
Barron is a veteran himself, now retired after serving 20 years.
"I found Team Rubicon as a way to utilize my skills to give back to the community," he said.
Veteran-volunteer from Saint John, New Brunswick, Chris Saulnier, said Team Rubicon has given him purpose after service.
"Every time we brought something out that looked like a piece of memorabilia, you could tell the mood was being elevated," said Saulnier. "That homeowner is who we're here for."
Hope for Adam's Cove
Mayor of Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove Curtis Delaney said he had been asking the province for help with clean up before he was connected with Team Rubicon.
"Being from a small town, we don't have the resources large municipalities have," said Delaney. "Any help that we can get is extremely important."
Delaney said he is grateful for the hope and comfort Team Rubicon's help will bring to the victims.
"I don't think there's any money [that] can replace, you know, what people have lost, especially when it comes to sentimental items and family heirlooms," he said.
Heading into the summer months, Delaney says forest fires are still a concern. So, he says the town is trying to be extra vigilant.
"We're trying to do what we can to mitigate risks" he said.
And, he said there is more work to be done.
"People will see a lot of work taking place and hopefully homes starting to be rebuilt as well."
Debbie Marnell, a provincial government communications director, told CBC in a statement that the government engaged Team Rubicon to support impacted residents.
Marnell says they're still assessing the damage in the area, and that the government remains in close contact with the community.
The Department of Municipal Affairs also have the town a $30,000 grant to help with debris clean up, "and is actively working with the town to determine any additional debris clean-up costs associated with Team Rubicon," said Marnell.
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