A young couple from England who lost their passports and all of their possessions when their van was destroyed in a fire at a View Royal tire shop Tuesday say they are touched by the outpouring of support from 颅Victorians.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe the support we are getting here,鈥� said Rob Pearce, 26. 鈥淭he group compassion from people we don鈥檛 even know has got us a little happier again. People from Victoria are amazing.鈥�
An online fundraising set up by Langford resident Ginger Halbert had raised more than $3,500 by Wednesday afternoon. Halbert, who was at the scene of the fire Tuesday afternoon, also took Pearce and his partner, Jess Choules, 25, in for the night.
The couple arrived in B.C. last October for a ski adventure and ended up being trapped by the pandemic. The couple stayed in Revelstoke working in traffic control, waiting to start a 鈥渢rip of a lifetime鈥� through the province fishing, paddle boarding and dirt biking.
They had been on the road for about a month and stopped in Victoria to have repairs done on their van, which was caught in the fire at Big O Tires in View Royal and destroyed.
The fire gutted the business and sent an employee to hospital with burns.
View Royal Fire Department, with assistance from Colwood and Langford departments, fought and contained the blaze, which backed up traffic.
The English couple lost their travel cash, clothing, fishing and camping gear, a small boat, dirt bike gear, laptop and cameras and photos. They were left in the parking lot with only the clothes on their backs.
Elaine Stamp, who donated $50, said on the GoFundMe page: 鈥淎s devastated as you must be, keep love in your hearts, there will be new adventures and memories to make.鈥�
Pearce said in an interview Wednesday that the outpouring from Victorians has helped bring some calm in the wake of their devastating loss.
The 2003 GMC van was 鈥渙ur home,鈥� said Pearce. 鈥淚 rebuilt it by hand. It had our beds, a shower, everything we own. Now everything is gone. I don鈥檛 even have any shoes on my feet.鈥�
鈥淧eople have offered us their homes and are reaching out from everywhere,鈥� said Pearce. 鈥淲e are not used to taking anything from anyone. We are very independent, being on the road for four years and not used to taking money, so it鈥檚 hard for us.
鈥淏ut people want to help 鈥� we appreciate it.鈥�
The 91原创 leg of their world journey was a highlight. Even after getting stuck here because of the pandemic, they wanted to safely carry on the adventure and see other parts of British Columbia.
Now Pearce is awaiting a call from ICBC to see what will be covered under his insurance policy.
They are currently staying in a hotel awaiting word.
But there are many things money can鈥檛 replace, said Pearce, including more than 10,000 photos of their travels and a stuffed penguin they acquired in South Australia four years ago that marked the start of their travels.
The GoFundMe campaign is at .