Victoria family still recovering physically and emotionally after arson injures daughter

It's been a week since suspected arson forced the priest of a Ukrainian church and his young family to flee their Victoria home.

Three children had to jump to safety from a second-storey window to escape the fire.

Father Yuriy Vyshnevskyy, who is a priest for a Ukranian Catholic church next door to his home, says his eldest daughter has had a second surgery on her left arm to repair nerve damage caused when she leapt from the second-floor window into his arms.

She is not expected to regain full use of that arm for a year, but will hopefully make a full recovery.

The family's cat, which was resuscitated by firefighters, is also expected to survive, though it may be permanently blind.

A mother, father and three children were all inside the home when the fire broke out.

The family escaped the fire in their pajamas, and most of their possessions remain inside the damaged building, including photo albums and the priest's wedding ring.

Still, the family's overwhelmed by the support from members of the community – some of them perfect strangers – including one man who gave the priest the jacket off his back.

So far, $50,000 has been raised for the family, and others have dropped off an anonymous card with gifts for the family and their cat.

Vyshnevskyy says the community has ben "caring" and "concerned" and that their support will become "the foundation of our new lives, whether it's going to be at this location at this house, or somewhere else."

"We turned the page last Wednesday, and this is the beginning of our new lives," he said.

NEXT STEPS

It's not yet known whether the heritage house will have to be rebuilt or if it can be restored.

Either way, the priest estimates it will take a year before they can return here. For the moment, the family's staying with friends, but they plan to rent a place once they know if and when they can return to the damaged home.

Victoria police continue to investigate the arson and have not ruled out the possibility that it was a hate crime.

The priest's wife heard and smelled someone pouring gasoline through their mail slot, before it was lit on fire.

Vyshnevskyy says while his family’s physical scars will heal, the emotional trauma will take longer, and they expect to benefit from counselling services in the coming weeks and months.