Rick and Amanda Piegan and their daughter Gwen spent two months prepping their 1976 Dodge motorhome for the journey from the mid-western state to their Cape Breton destination for an extended vacation and new life in Canada. Rick had always fancied the ocean and was hoping to find work on a fishing vessel to provide them with the means of a more permanent property while 15-year-old Gwen was, and still is, looking forward to going to school here.
Selling off the extras in their life for cash, the trio packed up what they needed and their pet husky Twyla-Marie into the motorhome and headed East.
Their dreams were dashed just a handful of hours from their final destination. At approximately 5 p.m. just a few kilometers from the tollbooth on the Cobequid Pass south of Oxford disaster unfolded.
Related article: Ohio family loses everything
“It was a matter of smelling smoke initially, and then we both at the same time saw the smoke coming out the dash,” Amanda said.
Inside the motorhome things happened quickly. Amanda unlatched the fire extinguisher beneath her seat with one hand and shook her daughter Gwen awake.
“She was taking a nap. Once I got out of my chair and felt the base of the bed with my leg it was very hot.”
As Rick pulled the vehicle over it filled with thick, dark smoke. Then the smoke turned into flames.
“I couldn’t even see to get out of the vehicle,” Amanda said.
But they did get out. All lives accounted for unharmed, including Twyla-Marie.
The casualties were clothes, money, things – they literally only had the clothes on their back and none of the extras of life, including Gwen’s eyeglasses.
“Right now we’re trying to figure out working with the consulate and what we can do. Medications, glasses and those sort of things,” Amanda said.
The Canadian Red Cross is working with the Piegans, finding them temporary lodgings at an Amherst hotel. Red Cross provided clothing, food and shelter.
The question looms heavy: where will they call home?
“We had spent the last two months working on [the motorhome] from scratch and making it an ideal space,” Amanda said.
“We had spent so much time on it,” Gwen said. “We tore out all the carpet and redid the furniture.”
The days ahead are uncharted territory for the Piegans but they have been very grateful for all the local support they have received.
Rick and Amanda Piegan and their daughter Gwen spent two months prepping their 1976 Dodge motorhome for the journey from the mid-western state to their Cape Breton destination for an extended vacation and new life in Canada. Rick had always fancied the ocean and was hoping to find work on a fishing vessel to provide them with the means of a more permanent property while 15-year-old Gwen was, and still is, looking forward to going to school here.
Selling off the extras in their life for cash, the trio packed up what they needed and their pet husky Twyla-Marie into the motorhome and headed East.
Their dreams were dashed just a handful of hours from their final destination. At approximately 5 p.m. just a few kilometers from the tollbooth on the Cobequid Pass south of Oxford disaster unfolded.
Related article: Ohio family loses everything
“It was a matter of smelling smoke initially, and then we both at the same time saw the smoke coming out the dash,” Amanda said.
Inside the motorhome things happened quickly. Amanda unlatched the fire extinguisher beneath her seat with one hand and shook her daughter Gwen awake.
“She was taking a nap. Once I got out of my chair and felt the base of the bed with my leg it was very hot.”
As Rick pulled the vehicle over it filled with thick, dark smoke. Then the smoke turned into flames.
“I couldn’t even see to get out of the vehicle,” Amanda said.
But they did get out. All lives accounted for unharmed, including Twyla-Marie.
The casualties were clothes, money, things – they literally only had the clothes on their back and none of the extras of life, including Gwen’s eyeglasses.
“Right now we’re trying to figure out working with the consulate and what we can do. Medications, glasses and those sort of things,” Amanda said.
The Canadian Red Cross is working with the Piegans, finding them temporary lodgings at an Amherst hotel. Red Cross provided clothing, food and shelter.
The question looms heavy: where will they call home?
“We had spent the last two months working on [the motorhome] from scratch and making it an ideal space,” Amanda said.
“We had spent so much time on it,” Gwen said. “We tore out all the carpet and redid the furniture.”
The days ahead are uncharted territory for the Piegans but they have been very grateful for all the local support they have received.