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Aldergrove fire victims rebuilding lives

The victims of the townhouse fire in Aldergrove early Wednesday morning are recovering
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Kiersten Dueck and her father Geoff in better times. Kiersten and her partner Devon will be staying with Geoff and other family members until her home can be restored.

The victims of the townhouse fire in Aldergrove early Wednesday morning are recovering and slowly rebuilding their lives.

Kiersten Dueck and her partner Devon lost pretty well everything when their townhouse unit went up in flames after a neighbour’s drug-making lab exploded shortly after midnight, Sept. 13.

Kiersten Dueck had lived the home almost all her life and it is still owned by the family, explained her father Geoff Dueck, who now has the couple living in his one-bedroom basement suite in Brookswood.

“We raised Kiersten there, it’s the only home she’s ever known,” said Geoff.

“Kiersten and Devon are staying in my suite for now, while we figure things out.

Geoff said his daughter was initially beside herself with grief about her small pets, including a cat, but firefighters were able to rescue the pets and return them to a grateful Kiersten.

Geoff also observed that, “There’s been a great outpouring of support, with people dropping off clothes, makeup, food, money to help them rebuild their lives.”

There is a GoFundMe page set up for the couple (see https://www.gofundme.com/savelittledueck) which has raised over $1,000 for them, and Geoff said the home insurers have provided a cheque for the victims to help them get by while police investigation continues.

Langley Drug Section has assumed conduct of this investigation.

Police and fire attended the townhouse complex in the 27100 block of 31A Avenue shortly after midnight for the reported explosion. Three residences were still on fire on arrival and two men were found in the centre garage suffering from severe burns. One of the men was transported by air and the other by ground ambulance. No other injuries were reported.

Langley Client Support & Victim Services attended to provide support and assistance to the families from all three residences displaced by the fire.

Currently, police wait for a structural engineer to attend and determine if entry onto the site is safe. The two neighbouring units were both heavily damaged by the fire.

Police believe there may have been a butane extraction site established in the centre garage and will continue their investigation in this regard.

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The fire destroyed three townhomes on Wednesday, Sept. 13.