FREDERICTON – Fleeing war and fire in their homeland, a group of Syrian refugees in Fredericton, Alberta, are raising money to help victims of the fire in Fort McMurray.

“We know what the fires mean,” Anas Khaddam told CBC.

Khaddam said the images of burning houses and neighborhoods in Alberta this month have revived war in which they lost everything.

“I can hear the voices of them when they are crying and shouting,” Khaddam’s wife Asil al Ammouri said.

“I can see the fear and the scared in their eyes. It’s hard, hard, hard when there is fire and you have to run away and you lose everything and you are alone.”

Earlier this month, the province of Alberta declared a state of emergency after a massive wildfire destroyed 1,600 homes and buildings in Fort McMurray and forced more than 80,000 residents to evacuate to surrounding towns and cities.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police when went door to door in Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation, which had all been accommodating evacuees, after a mandatory evacuation order was issued for them.

Last week, Muslims gathered at the Alberta Legislature to pray for rain.

In Toronto, Imams at Masjid Toronto, which hosts the largest gathering of Muslims in downtown Toronto with 6 prayer services at 2 mosques weekly, offered prayers and issued an appeal for donations to support the people affected by the wildfires.

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) also opened up its mosques in Cold Lake and Edmonton to host the fire evacuees.

Losing everything in war, Syrian refugees did not have much to donate.

Yet, Abdel-Karim Shihan gave his whole government allowance for the month; $1,376.

Khaddam said their generosity comes from a sense of gratefulness for their new community.

“So we are ready to do anything, we are ready to go to Alberta,” Khaddam said.

“We are ready to receive all the families in Alberta in our homes — our homes are their homes. The community of Canada is our community, so we are ready to do anything.”

Mohammad Bakhash shared similar feelings of gratitude to Canadians.

“It’s a message of peace, that we feel all of their pain. When we see the views of the fires we remember,” he said.