Families still searching for answers regarding remains of loved ones following funeral home fire – Montreal

Ken Crawford says he has no idea if his wife’s urn has been destroyed.

“I came the night of the fire and I’ve been here every day since,” he told Global News.

Monday was the sixth straight day that he stopped by what’s left of the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home in Pointe-Claire, hoping to get information.

“If I have to I’ll walk in because I know where the columbarium is,” he said, “but no one’s shown up.”

Though the building was ravaged by fire nearly a week ago many people with remains of loved ones there say they still don’t know what steps they should take, because they haven’t got much information. Monday, several clients went to the property hoping to get information and were greeted by a security guard. The site is still cordoned off.

“Well I’m just concerned that there’s been no communication whatsoever,” said Pat Enborg, who had her husband’s ashes there.

She concedes that it might be difficult for staff to call everyone but for some, that’s still no excuse.

“I went on the Facebook page, I went on their website to see if there was any information concerning what we can do, concerning the remains. There’s no information whatsoever,” explained Tanya Sotelsek whose mother’s ashes were also at the home.

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Devastating fire destroys Pointe-Claire funeral home

On Monday afternoon, the funeral home’s Facebook page shows the latest post made by the company — two days after the fire — thanking fire services.  The post also reads, “We have been a proud member of this community since 1940 and will continue to provide funeral services for families through our other locations in the area. Rest assured we are in the process of contacting families about this unfortunate circumstance.”

There’s a similar message on the website with a phone number.

“They should’ve put out a public statement saying ‘We’re very sorry for your loss, for what happened, here’s what we’re going to do,’” Enborg argued.

She says she finally spoke to someone Monday after calling multiple times since the fire.

“They have all of the urns that survived intact down at the head office now and they’re doing an inventory of them all,” she said the official told her, “and they will contact families this week.”

She and others reason, however, that it shouldn’t be up to families to reach out to the funeral home for updates.

“You would think that there would be someone here every day from management to answer questions,” Crawford said.

Global News reached out to the company for comment but officials did not return calls before deadline.

December will be 20 years since Crawford’s wife passed away.  He says he and his family just want some answers, and a little empathy.

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