‘I don’t know what to say’: Support pouring in after garage fire in Bible Hill, N.S.

When fire destroys a beloved working garage, neighbours rally to help rebuild.

Wayne Morris is known by many people of Bible Hill, N.S., as the sweet mechanic who is never afraid to lend a helping hand, but after his garage caught fire, the community was quick to return the favour.

On May 13, Morris’ hobby garage on Farnham Road caught fire which not only destroyed the 50 years’ worth of items in the garage but also sent he and his wife to hospital.

“I walked out the garage, a big bang, I turned around and all I could see is flames coming up,” said Morris in an interview with CTV News.

Morris says he tried to grab something from the garage when the fire broke out, but he inhaled a lot of smoke.

“I ended up in the hospital right away, and my wife, she did not know where I was for a few minutes because she was in shock. They got the fire out, but the damage is what you can see,” he said.

Morris’ garage, a place he had helped so many people at, had been turned into little more than a pile of ash. That’s when a neighbour of had an idea.

Amber Davidson first met Morris shortly after moving to the community.

Her car had broken down, but she didn’t have the money to fix it. As she walked down Farnham Road one night, she met Morris who was quick to tell her to bring her vehicle to his garage. Charging no more than the cost of the parts, Morris fixed her vehicle.

“The day of the fire someone confirmed, ‘Yeah, that was Wayne’s garage over there,’ and it didn’t sit well with me, especially after the kindness he showed me, so I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to help him out’,” she said.

Davidson started a GoFundMe in an effort to raise funds for Morris, and shortly after it went live, she started to receive stories of people who had similar run-ins with Morris.

“People just came out of the woodwork with stories similar to my own about how they were in a jam and Wayne helped them out. He never turned anyone away,” said Davidson.

Morris says he’s shocked by the amount of people who are donating to help.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s just beautiful people coming and trying to help me to get things fixed up and all that,” he said

“I’m very, very thankful for what they’re doing.”

Morris says he hopes to use the funds raised to build a new, smaller garage which would be more manageable for the years ahead.

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