A mother, father and four children who died in a fire inside their vacation trailer are being remembered as an active and boisterous family by a friend who rented them the farmhouse in Amherst, NS, where they lived.
Colin Smith said he was close to his father, Robert Jorge (RJ) Sears, 33, and his friend’s life centered around working hard and enjoying his young family alongside his partner, Michelle Robertson, 28, in his house. in Amherst.
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Family of 6 killed, including 4 children, after fire in NS travel trailer
The 44-year-old recalls that his bustling home included a cat, a dog, and a bearded lizard, and he has strong memories of the four children playing on swings, jumping into trees, and jumping on a trampoline in the yard while Robertson kept an eye on them.
RJ Sears’ father, Robert Tony Sears, has identified the children who died in the caravan as 11-year-old Madison; Robert Ryder, 8 years old; Jaxson, 4 and Colin J. (CJ), 3.
The family died in a Passport Ultra Lite trailer, which at the time of the fire was on property in Millvale, a rural community about 45 kilometers southwest of Amherst.
The RCMP has said the family was in the caravan for a weekend, and police found their bodies in the trailer Sunday night.
The coroner’s office is investigating the cause and time of death, and the fire marshal is investigating what started the fire, as the Mounties say they continue to believe the incident is not suspicious.
Smith said his friend worked hard as a laborer for Gordon Food Service in Amherst, and in his spare time his focus was his children and friends.
“I met him years ago when my little girl was in kindergarten. I met him and we started talking and we have been inseparable ever since, and he is the kind of person that if you ever got in a hurry, he would drop everything and come to help you, “she said.
As the children grew, they played with their four children, and the sounds of their jokes and screams as they ran became part of their daily lives. “It was a very busy house, with four children.
Little orangutans, all of them, ”he said.
Smith said there will be many children in Amherst who will be affected by the deaths, particularly at the local school that three of the four children attended.
He said he has been struggling to explain the tragedy to his own children and is waiting for more information about what happened.
He recalled that a Facebook message from RJ’s father informing him of the deaths left him unsteady on his feet.
“I just sat on the couch, staring at the wall…. Then I went over and talked to him (the father). It was difficult to have a conversation. I just gave him a hug. “
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca