Workers at a local Saskatoon restaurant are among those displaced by the recent fire in the Hampton Village community that destroyed four homes. Four employees of Da India Curry House were living in one of the homes on Geary Crescent lost in the blaze. The restaurant’s owner says two of the workers escaped with only the clothes on their backs, running from the fire without shoes. “They gave me a video call, but they were all crying. Everybody was crying because they lost their passports and everything,” explained Kapil Jaggi, owner of Da India Curry House. “Not just documents and jewelry and valuables are a part of the memories, right? They had lived in that house for the last two years.” Jaggi says the workers didn’t have tenant insurance, which led him to create a GoFundMe campaign to help them replace essential belongings and find long-term housing. “What happened on Friday in Hampton Village was something that I’ve never seen in my 14 years on city council,” said Ward 4 City Councilor Troy Davies. Davies says through tragedy there’s light, seeing the community come together, with neighbours and businesses stepping up to support the families as they begin rebuilding their lives. “Truly inspiring to see immediately. You know, local businesses were stepping up, offering free food for all those families that were affected,” Davies added. “Just general people reaching out saying, ‘how can I help?’ And that’s pretty much the DNA of Saskatoon.” The Saskatoon Fire Department continues to work to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed four homes and six garages.
