‘High River Strong’: Community rallies around family after deadly house fire

A High River man is being remembered for incredible acts of kindness and generosity after he passed away in a devastating house fire.

A High River man who passed away this week in a tragic house fire is being remembered for his outpouring of compassion and generosity as community members now rally in support for his family.

Clint Malinowski, 46, is described as someone who ‘would give the shirt off his back’ and ‘always lend a helping hand’ to others.

“If there was anyone who needed help then he was always there,” said John Malinowski, Clint’s father.

“In today’s age we have a lot of homeless people around sadly, but I don’t think there’s any in town that didn’t know Clint by his first name. He did everything he could for them, it didn’t matter what day it was or if it was in the middle of the night, he’d always be helping, and his compassion was his strong point.”

Clint had been living in his parents’ basement on the 600 block of 8th Street S.E. when a fire broke out around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Despite best efforts to save him, Clint didn’t make it out in time as firefighters fought heavy flames and intense heat.

“Upon arrival, our crews confirmed a working structure fire and attempted to make entry into the home,” said Acting Fire Chief Steve Debienne. “

Unfortunately, an adult male was found deceased in the basement.”

Debienne said firefighters from both High River and Okotoks worked together to bring the blaze under control.

“An incident of this magnitude in a small community does rock a community,” he said.

“There’s a lot of ties into the community, and we want to offer our condolences to the family, the friends, the neighbours and the relatives of the deceased individual.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A son’s pride

Clint’s 16-year-old son, Max Malinowski says he was raised by a loving father who always instilled empathy and generosity upon others.

“He was always trying to help people,” Max said.

“Whenever anyone asked, he’d rush over and give what he had, no matter what. Even when people weren’t nice to him, he was still great to them.”

Max said his dad taught him lessons about kindness that he’ll carry forever.

“He taught me to be a great person,” he said. “Just because someone’s not nice to you doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be nice to them.”

One of his favourite memories is spending time together in the garage. “He was always really creative, always inventing stuff,” Max said.

“He loved showing me his inventions every time you got to see him.”

Clint’s truck, now parked outside the family’s home, will soon belong to Max but further funds are still needed to repair damage due to the fire.

Community support and kindness

In the days following the fire, a GoFundMe campaign launched by a neighbour has now raised nearly $13,000 as of Thursday afternoon to help the Malinowski family rebuild.

Cam D’Andrea lives just four doors down from the Malinowskis and knew he had to start the initiative.

“When something bad happens to nice people, you just want to bring people together as much as you can because this is a huge loss,” D’Andrea said.

“I’m a farm boy and community is everything,” he added. “This family has been her for such a long time and I’ve gotten to know them well over the years.”

D’Andrea said he’s been amazed at the community support over just the past couple of days.

“We’re getting support from all over the province and this is for Clint, he would give the shirt off his back,” he said.

“He just wanted to help everybody.”

Local businesses step up

Local businesses have also stepped up.

Mukesh Divakar, associate owner of Shoppers Drug Mart in High River, said his team immediately reached out to offer help the Malinowski family.

“I would express my heartfelt condolence to the family,” Divakar said.

“As a local business owner and a proud citizen of High River, the first thing that came to my mind was how we could support this family in need.”

Divakar said his store is providing essentials and pharmacy items free of charge. “

Whatever you need from our store, you are very welcome to come and grab those things,” he said.

“Be it your essentials, needs, your food items, whatever support they need at this point of time.”

He added that the tragedy is a reminder of what makes High River unique.

“It’s important for all the business owners, because we’re part of your community,” he said.

“As human beings, we are here to show kindness. It’s always better to give back and support each other — that’s how we make a strong community.”

Paying tribute to Clint

Members of High River’s Mexican community also plan to pay tribute to Clint during upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations at the Museum of the Highwood on Nov. 1.

“It’s a very sad moment for our community,” said Liz Vigueras, with the Mexican, Latino and Cross-Cultural Society.

“Even if we don’t know them, it’s a hard moment for everybody because it’s a tragedy, but this man was part of our community so he is part of our family.”

Vigueras said Clint will be remembered as part of a community altar display.

“We want to show our support because we want his family to know they are not alone.”

“We are all connected — we stay strong together.”

‘High River Strong’

Through tears, John Malinowski said he’s grateful for every message, call, and act of kindness his family has received, adding that the support since Tuesday has been overwhelming.

“I can’t believe it,” John said.

“Every day, my heart goes out to these people and the grieving becomes a little more relaxed, if you will, because you know that you’re going to get through this.”

He said the tragedy has reminded him of the resilience High River showed more than a decade ago, during the flood of 2013.

“Thirteen or fourteen years ago, we went through the flood, and there’s a term that came out of that — High River Strong,” he said.

“It’s still there.”