THUNDER BAY — The Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay ReStore is recovering following a break-in at a small garage on the build site for its 2025 Habitat Home Build on Thursday night.
The garage, located at 908 Alexandra Street, was part of the site’s old building and stored roughly $3,000 worth of tools — all of which were stolen after the culprit broke one of the windows and cut the lock inside.
These tools included DeWalt saws and impact drivers, Ridgid tools, a transit level and Milwaukee drills, batteries and chargers, as well as several other pieces of equipment vital to continuing construction.
Until these tools are replaced, they are unable to continue building, said the ReStore in a Facebook page post on Saturday morning.
“I was just at the build on Thursday and then Friday morning, I came into the ReStore and Matt (the build coordinator) had told me the site was broken into and all the tools were stolen,” said Nicole Wiercinski, whose family was chosen by Habitat for Humanity as the homeowner for 2025.
“So, I was feeling really, really upset (and) really devastated about that. I don’t understand why somebody would do that.”
Wiercinski said she definitely hopes that the culprit is caught.
“Maybe someone has some footage on their cameras or something like that, or maybe somebody’s seen something that they can help with,” said Wiercinski.
As of Monday afternoon, the ReStore has filed a police report with the Thunder Bay Police Service, but has had no luck catching the culprit.
“The police has responded with the actual process police report, but they haven’t followed up with us in person or anything like that,” said Todd Davis, Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay’s interim CEO.
In the meantime, Wiercinski said they’re definitely going to get on with the build: “We’re not going to let this stop us.”
“I’m really thankful that my family got chosen and we’re ecstatic about getting a house,” said Wiercinski, who was also thankful for the opportunity.
“We can’t wait to move in and we’re just astounded by the help all the community is giving out. And it just makes me feel like we’re part of the community and it’s a really great feeling.”
The ReStore has raised $2,460 of its $5,000 fundraising goal on its donation platform, where it encouraged residents to donate to help replace the tools, so they could resume building sooner rather than later.
“The response has been phenomenal from the community. We’ve been donated quite a bit of money towards replacing those tools,” said Davis, who referenced how their Saturday Facebook post seeking help recovering some of the cost of replacing the tools had over 200 shares.
“It was kind of a surprise to us all,” he added.
Davis said they’re very grateful for the donations to help them replace the tools, so they can continue on with their mission of providing low-cost homes to the local community.
McEachern’s Tool House was one of many in the community that donated tools on Monday in support of Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay.
“I saw them post about losing everything to a break in, which was frustrating to hear when it’s a charity, and they said they couldn’t work without that stuff so they asked if anybody could do anything and try to help them if they could reach out,” said Keyl McEachern, McEachern’s Tool House’s general manager.
“So, I reached out to Matt right away through email and asked him to give me a call because I’d like to help. So I talked to him about what they might be needing and put some stuff together and they came first thing this morning and picked it up.”
These donated tools included a King Dual Fuel 12,000W generator, two DeWalt framing nailers, two DeWalt circular saws, two DeWalt impact drivers and a DeWalt laser level.
“I hope there are some more people out there that will donate because that’s obviously just a portion of what they need to be building these houses, so there’s a lot more that’s needed,” said McEachern.
McEachern added that they were just happy to be able to help and give them some tools, so they could continue working right away.
The ReStore urges anyone who may have seen or heard of someone attempting to sell these tools to contact the police.
