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Rossburn residents are mourning after a deadly fire at this Main Street residence early Saturday. Two seniors — Edwin (Eddy) Collins and Marie Allen — died in the blaze.
Rossburn continues to mourn an elderly couple who lost their lives in a house fire on the weekend.
Mayor Shirley Kalyniuk said the tragedy has hit the town of almost 600 people hard.
"It’s saddened the people. We all knew them both," Kalyniuk said on Tuesday.
Edwin (Eddy) Collins and Marie Allen perished Saturday during an early morning fire at their single-storey Main Street home.
Police were called there around
3 a.m. and arrived to find smoke coming from the doors and eaves.
Firefighters donned breathing equipment to search the house and found the 69-year-old Collins on the floor near the fire.
Collins was carried from the home and ambulance workers tried to revive him, but his life couldn’t be saved.
Allen, 71, was found lying in bed with a cordless phone in her hand.
It appears it was Allen who had reported the fire.
The kitchen sink tap was found running, suggesting that the couple had tried to fight the fire themselves.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner says the blaze, which has been deemed accidental, started from an electrical short in a home furnace unit.
The house wasn’t equipped with working fire alarms, Rossburn fire Chief Kelly Slon noted.
It’s not clear why the couple didn’t or wasn’t able to leave the home.
Meanwhile, the town mourns.
Kalyniuk said she would stop to chat with Allen and Collins whenever they met in the community and she found both to be friendly.
A friend said Collins had an unidentified medical condition that limited his ability to walk, and he moved around with the help of a mobility scooter and walker.
But Kalyniuk said Collins didn’t let his physical condition limit him, as he could often be seen out on his scooter.
It could be seen parked at the N L Restaurant where he’d have coffee with friends and at the post office, she said.
"He was very independent," Kalyniuk said.
The common-law couple’s friend, Myron Glushka, said Collins and Allen will be missed.
"They were good people. Everybody liked them," Glushka said.
Collins was born and raised in Rossburn and Glushka had known him since 1961 when they were in high school together.
Collins and Allen had been together for 23 years and lived in the house where Collins grew up.
Allen was originally from Ireland and came to Canada in 1972, Glushka said.
She was living in Winnipeg but had a friend in Rossburn who she would visit, and that’s how she met Collins.
Collins was limited physically but had an extraordinary memory, Glushka said.
He loved sports and, a big Toronto Blue Jays fan, he was quick with baseball statistics.
At one point in his life, years ago, Collins had travelled across Saskatchewan as he worked at repairing grain elevators, but then ceased to work due to his condition.
Later in life, Collins was known as a homebody, but Glushka said Collins went out for coffee with friends every day.
"Everybody knew him ... he got along with everybody," Glushka said.
Allen had retired by the time she moved to Rossburn to be with Collins and had previously worked in nursing, Glushka said.
The couple didn’t have any children together, but Allen had two daughters and a son from a previous relationship.
Collins is survived by four sisters but is predeceased by two brothers who died accidentally years ago, Glushka said.
A funeral service for the couple will be held at the Rossburn community hall at 2 p.m. on Friday.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 19, 2012
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Rossburn continues to mourn an elderly couple who lost their lives in a house fire on the weekend.
Mayor Shirley Kalyniuk said the tragedy has hit the town of almost 600 people hard.
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Rossburn continues to mourn an elderly couple who lost their lives in a house fire on the weekend.
Mayor Shirley Kalyniuk said the tragedy has hit the town of almost 600 people hard.
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