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Plea to help family forced out of home by fire

Tom Edwards
BBC Hereford & Worcester
The story behind Bromsgrove’s ‘raging inferno’

A woman is appealing for people to help her sister whose home was devastated by a fire that she and others fled "with just the clothes on their backs".

Two semi-detached properties on King Edward Road in Bromsgrove went up in flames last month.

Emma Watkins said her sister's family were now living in a hotel, having lost swathes of personal possessions, adding it could be more than a year before they were able to return home.

"It's been devastating for them - they've even lost their wedding album," she said. "There's so many things they can't replace."

Ms Watkins has now launched an online fundraising appeal to help the family as they try to piece their lives back together.

It is thought the fire spread from a neighbouring property.

A man and woman sitting on a brown sofa, in a room with green curtains. They both have serious expressions. She is wearing a grey long-sleeved top revealing a floral tattoo on one shoulder and has brown hair tied back and brown glasses. He is wearing a red hoodie with a Ferrari logo on it, has a shaved head and brown beard.
Emma Watkins has started a fundraising appeal with her partner, Adam Tobyn

Reliving her sister's panicked call, Ms Watkins said: "She was screaming down the phone, saying 'my house is on fire'.

"Of course your heart stops and you don't know what to do."

She described seeing the plumes of smoke from her own window.

"The scene inside the house just breaks your heart," she added of the aftermath.

"They walked outside with just the clothes on their backs."

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has said the fire is believed to have started accidentally.

Emma Watkins A charred loft space, with tangles of wire, objects and planks all blackened and melted together by fire.Emma Watkins
The inside of the loft after the blaze, thought to have spread from a neighbouring property

Ms Watkins' nephew, Kyle Southerton, 27, was in the house with his parents and brother when the fire broke out.

He said they were making breakfast when they were alerted by a neighbour.

"We get a knock on the door from someone who used to babysit me and my brother, saying 'I don't know whether you know this, but your house is on fire, you've got to get out'."

He said: "My family are distraught - you never think it's going to be your family, and when it is, you don't know what to think, how to react."

Emma Watkins Debris on a bed in a bedroom, including wallpaper, wall plaster, rubble and electrical equipment. More detritus can be seen on a desk against the wall of the room.Emma Watkins
One of the upstairs bedrooms after the fire

Mr Southerton said his and his brother's room "just collapsed" and there was very little to salvage.

"We are living out of backpacks at the moment in the hotel we are staying in," he added.

He said it was unclear when the family could return home but estimated it could be about 12 to 18 months.

The family is now dealing with insurers and looking for somewhere to rent.

Ms Watkins said: "I can't rebuild their house with whatever money we end up raising, that would be ridiculous, but whatever people can give would help."

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