Eric Lemieux and his family are living life day to day after a fire destroyed their home in Cantley, Que. last week.
"It's somewhat hard to deal with," Lemieux said. "But we've got our family, so we'll hang in there."
The Lemieux's were out of town on a last-minute trip visiting relatives when a blaze ripped through their home in west Quebec Thursday morning.
"I do believe that there's a guardian angel that really wanted to protect us," Lemieux said.
He says the fire is especially difficult to explain to his daughter, Mary Lou, who is too young to understand what happened. She turns two at the end of the month.
Contents inside the Lemieux's home could not be saved. To make matters worse, the 130-year-old house was only partially insured. According to the family, the age and remote location of the property made insurance coverage complex.
The family is now rebuilding from scratch.
"It's kind of difficult to even think of what we need because right now we don't even have a place to stay, so I'd have to say that is probably the priority," Lemieux said.
The family is now living in a friend's basement down the road. A friend is in the process of setting up a trust fund at the Royal Bank of Canada to help the family as they move forward.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Melissa Lamb
