‘Rollercoaster of emotions’: N.S. wildfire evacuee wins 50-50 firefighter draw

Susan Cooper has had some strange luck as of late — and a lot to be thankful for.

She and her family were among the more-than 16,000 people who had to flee their homes due to the wildfire that broke out two-and-a-half weeks ago in the Tantallon area of Halifax.

“It was nothing like I’ve ever experienced,” said Cooper, who described a scene of hastily packing a few belongings and escaping the flames and smoke that broke out in the Westwood Hills subdivision on May 28.

“It was surreal.”

Cooper, her husband and their teenage son were able to stay with her mother, who lives in Clayton Park. Their dog, a dachshund, was also evacuated but he had to stay elsewhere.

Last Thursday, Cooper and her family went out for dinner. They were waiting for the bill when she remembered the firefighter 50-50 raffle was happening that evening.

The 50-50 draw, which is designed to raise money to support firefighters across the province, is a weekly online jackpot that is hosted by Nova Scotia Firefighters 50-50, a non-profit group.

Cooper — who had “randomly” purchased tickets for draws in the past — wanted to offer her support to the firefighters who had spent countless hours fighting the wildfire in her neighbourhood.

She decided to purchase $20 worth of tickets.

“I’m like, ‘Yes, I need to do that, I need to support our local people who have saved our home and our neighbourhood,’” she told Global News.

Later on, they were back at her mother’s place, winding down with her family when her cell phone rang, with news that she had won the jackpot: $483,390.

“I didn’t even know how much it was, because I didn’t even look. He told me and then I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’” Cooper said.

“I’m sitting here, trying to arrange a blow-up mattress for my son to sleep on because we’ve been fire displaced, and we know so many people that have lost their homes … it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.”

Her 16-year-old son, Jacob, described the win as “surreal.”

“I’ve never seen my parents so happy,” he said. “When we saw the cheque, it felt like it was actually real.”

Cooper said they had been joking around beforehand about what they would do with the money if they ended up winning.

Now that they’ve won, she said none of that matters anymore. They plan to use the money to fund Jacob’s education and pay for a family cruise, but other than that, they’re going to take it day-by-day.

Cooper said the wildfire made them appreciate the little things in life.

“When I was looking around the room at my mom’s, the most important things to us were already in that room, and everybody that we knew were safe and accounted for — other than being reunited with our dog, which was a top priority,” she said.

“We had what we needed, and we’ve been very fortunate to come back to a street that hasn’t really been impacted, other than the emotional side, and the fridge and freezer and the food lost.”

She and her family have been reunited with their dog and were able to return home a couple of days ago. She said they were lucky that their home was intact — other than some minor smoke damage — and that’s enough.

‘We’re so grateful’

Cooper purchased her tickets in support of the Black Point Volunteer Fire Department on St. Margarets Bay Road, where a comfort centre had been set up for evacuees.

Fred Layton, the platoon captain for the department, said while the firefighters weren’t the ones running the comfort station, they were busy fighting the Tantallon fire, along with other departments in the community.

In the 50-50 draw, half of the proceeds go to the winner, and 36 per cent goes to the fire departments. The rest goes toward administrative costs. Last week’s draw raised a total of $966,780.

Where Cooper’s tickets were purchased for the Black Point Volunteer Fire Department, the station will get an extra $1,000. Layton said they will use the draw money to purchase new lockers to store firefighting gear.

“We like the support that people are giving us. We’re getting a lot of support, which I think is great,” he said. “Our people did work hard, and all the other stations as well.”

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Two firefighters share their story after rescuing a man from his home during Tantallon wildfire

Layton said he was glad the winner of the draw was someone affected by the wildfires.

“I think it’s excellent for her, especially being put out for a bit,” he said.

Cooper extended her thanks to the firefighters who worked to put out the flames, some of whom lost their own homes in the devastation.

“I thank them for their time, their efforts, their sweat, and being separated from their families,” she said. “We’re so grateful for their actions, their bravery, their heroism.”

Jacob agreed.

“You worked long days, 36-hour shifts, in our neighbourhood,” he said.

“To those who lost their homes and were still fighting fire with every little bit that they had — thank you to all of them and we’re so grateful for their efforts to save what we still have.”