Back in 2014, Jon and Alex McNeil honeymooned on Bowen Island and fell in love with this place. Two years later, they bought a home here and despite long commutes and a string of other challenges, fell even more deeply in love with the community. On New Years Day, the McNeil’s found out they won $5,000 in the 50-50 draw (to raise money for new equipment at the BICS playground) and realized that whatever comes their way, they’ve picked the right place to call home.
“This money is a fraction of what we need, but it makes all the difference in the world,” says Jon McNeil, after explaining that there are a long list of repairs that need to be undertaken at the couple’s home, including major repairs to their coach-house and garage after a fire in early December.
The fire broke out three weeks to the day after the McNeils took-in their good friend Harry Monahan, who lost his home to a fire on November 16.
“We heard about the fire, and found out it was Harry that lost his house and immediately went down to the pub to find him and ask him to stay with us,” explains Alex. “Our coach house was empty, and our dogs, Shadow and Chevy, get along so well it was a no-brainer.”
On December 7, Monahan came back to the house after being out for the day and stopped in to ask Jon if he had been burning something in the garage.
“We hadn’t burned anything, and thought that maybe this was something to do with the trauma Harry experienced,” says Alex. “But we went into the garage, and there was definitely something burning in there.”
They went up to the suite above the garage where Harry was staying, and lifted the mattress off the heated floor.
“The tile was crackling, and heaving,” says Jon. “You wouldn’t think that ceramic tile could ever even do that. By the time the fire department got here, it sounded like a brush fire.”
Both Jon and Alex say they were blown away by the professionalism, compassion and understanding shown by members of the Bowen firefighters.
“They could’ve just dowsed the whole thing and put it out that way, but they were really careful and thoughtful about the whole thing, and made sure that there was as little damage as possible,” says Jon. “And after it was all over, one of the firefighters popped by to talk to us just to make sure we were okay.”
Alex says that while Monahan apologized to them repeatedly after the fire, he has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
“It was 7pm when we went over to the garage to investigate the fire. If he hadn’t urged us over there, we probably wouldn’t have discovered it. We would’ve just gone to bed, and the fire could’ve easily spread to the house. As far as I’m concerned, Harry saved our house and maybe even our lives,” says Alex.
After the fire, Monahan moved into the spare bedroom of Jon and Alex’s home.
The couple was informed about their 50-50 draw win by a text, which they initially dismissed as spam.
“Then we got a call from Caroline Parker, who seems like a really great person. There are so many great people here,” says Alex. “2016 was a really, really hard year for us. But everything is going to be alright, because we live on Bowen Island.”
