FORT MCMURRAY, Canada — A Canadian couple came up with a beautiful way to honor the hundreds of firefighters that battled a days-long wildfire that consumed the area around Alberta, Canada.
Monique Brunet
that she was home cooking banana bread and spaghetti for dinner May 3 when people started to voluntarily evacuate from certain areas of their home city of Fort McMurray.
Within hours, Monique and her husband Matt had packed up suitcases with clothes and pictures and their 2-year-old son, they headed for safety as the massive wall of flames headed toward the city. %
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Monique was four-weeks from her due date with the couple’s second child.
While the family was searching for a safe place to stay, Monique started having contractions.
“In the back of my head it’s not realistic, this is not happening to us,” Monique told CTV. “I’m like, ‘No, its fine. It'll go away.’”
But that didn’t happen. By the next morning, the contractions got more intense. The couple got to Grey Nun's Hospital and before they knew it, baby Brielle Monique Brunet arrived around 10:30 p.m. on May 4.
Not prepared for Brielle’s early arrival, friends and family rallied around the now family-of-four, surprising them with clothes, a stroller and car seat.
“It was just so touching to see everyone just come together and help us,” Monique said.
But that’s not where this story ends.
Monique said she was so touched by community’s generosity, and credits the first responders for getting tens of thousands of people to safety, that she wanted to do something special to thank them.
The couple found photographer Kym Poelzer who surprised them with a firefighter's uniform. Matt wore it during the shoot, with Brielle nestled in the helmet.
“Every time you look at it your heart kind of melts and you look at how tiny she is inside this big hat. You can’t imagine what these people are going through,” Poelzer told CTV.
Monique's mother-in-law urged her to share the photo on Facebook, so the firefighters in Fort McMurray might see something positive that came from the fire.
I have just gotten back from a whirlwind trip to Toronto and I am still in the process of messaging people back....
Posted by Evie Rose Photography on Monday, May 16, 2016
"I just thought it would be a neat way to incorporate the fire and the firefighters,"
. "They're heroes to us, and she's like our bundle of joy that came out of all this."
The family is currently staying in an apartment. Baby Brielle is said to be happy and healthy.
Cox Media Group
