Letter to Editor | Heartfelt thanks to all who are helping in aftermath of Sunday’s house fire

||| FROM ELLEN WICKHAM |||

On behalf of myself, and my son Thomas Bredahl, I want to give deep and heart-felt thanks to all the organizations and individuals who have helped in the aftermath of Sunday’s fire on Teal Lane.

For those who may not know, in the early morning of December 5, Thomas’s home burned to the ground. It was an unfortunate accident; he escaped with the clothes on his back and concerns only for the kitties who lived there as well. As of Dec 9, all but one of the kitties are accounted for, and are being graciously harbored by the Orcas Animal Shelter. There is still hope for the last as well; thanks to the efforts of our island pet rescue groups, we’ve been provided with a trail camera to monitor a safe, sheltered feeding station.

I can’t express enough appreciation for OIFR. It’s never easy to call a family member to tell them of a tragedy, and the dispatcher who called here at 2:16 a.m. certainly didn’t deserve the snarling “What do you want?” answer to their call.

The fire crews had to drag and set incredible lengths of hose just to even begin trying to fight the fire — water and access in the area are extremely challenging — all after battling another fire in East Orcas. Beyond all that, they made sure my son wasn’t just left alone and in shock as his house burned, or in the days to follow. The compassion and professionalism of our frontline Fire Department personnel is exceptional; thank you so much for all you do — we are all blessed and safer because of your huge hearts, and tireless efforts. 

For all the community members who have known Thomas and I these past three decades, and those we’re just meeting now, thank you for asking how to help, and for all the help given. There are folks and organizations not mentioned by name in this letter, but please know that you are recognized and appreciated. Thank you all, so much.

There is still a long road ahead, however, and the first thing is to get Thomas a place to live. There is a bank account set up at Islanders/Banner and a GoFundMe, both with the hope of raising a bit to help set up a pad, trailer, and basic utilities on my property, so he can have a dry safe place, and the kitties can come ‘home’.

If you would like to donate, the bank asks that checks be made out to Thomas Bredahl, with Bredahl Fire on the memo line. The GoFundMe link is here. It’s hard enough to ask for a personal cause, but I’d also like to ask those who don’t know us, or don’t wish to donate to this situation in particular, to consider a contribution to ANY of our amazing community organizations. They are always there, for us. We need to be there for them, too.