Amanda Racine stands in the rubble of the Glebe building where she used to live. She found her intact passport in the ruins. (JERRY RACINE/Special to QMI Agency)

OTTAWA - It was almost a needle in a haystack.

A young couple who lost everything in Saturday’s Glebe fire decided to try a long-shot search of their demolished apartment building.

The building, once located at 5 Monk St., was knocked-down Saturday afternoon after an early morning three-alarm blaze left it structurally unsound.

Amanda Racine and Gavin Hall went on the off chance to see if their passports managed to survive not only the fire, but the demolition as well. The couple were due to move out of the building Saturday and had got rid of most of their furniture, but evacuated during the fire leaving behind their passports, clothing and electronics.

Hall, who is a U.K. citizen at the end of a one-year work visa, is flying with Racine to England on Wednesday,

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Racine. “I found my passport and work visa in the rubble. We were shocked.”

Not only that, but the couple also found Hall’s computer backup drive and Racine’s digital camera.

“It still has the memory card in it, so there’s a chance all the photos survived,” said Racine, whop was saving shots of her going-away party from Friday night.

She also found a purse-type bag belonging to another resident of the building. She planned top drop the bag off at a fire hall.

“There is a little money in it, wedding photos and a card to somebody called Rachel,” said Racine.

She didn’t have long to troll the wreckage and rubble for anything salvageable.

“The cops came and kicked us out,” she said. “But we got all we needed anyway.”

Meantime, another displaced resident of the Monk St. building is hoping for a little luck of her own.

Unlike Racine and Hall, Meaghan Quinn did have insurance, but she hasn’t seen her cat, Morry Monster, since the fire.

She’s launched a poster campaign to try and locate him while she stays with family in Carleton Place.

The cat is described as being shades of gray with a white chest. He has long legs and is a little overweight and at the time of the fire was wearing a red collar with a pink heart-shaped tag.

He answers to the name Morry or Moe.

“We suspect he’s scared and hiding, if he got out at all,” said Quinn.