Appeal launched to help "Devastated" Peterborough family who "lost everything" in house fire

The family say they “lost everything” in a blaze which engulfed their home in Gunthorpe in the early hours of Sunday, June 29.

The incident was so severe that six fire crews attended, along with police and an ambulance.

Two family members were asleep inside the home when the fire began at 2.50am – and although one sustained fractures jumping from a window – both are thought to be lucky to have escaped with their lives.

Unfortunately, having only moved to the rented home, in Elter Walk, a month before – the family had not yet arranged contents insurance and are now staying at a hostel – with no idea where to turn to next.

"We’re not doing too well right now to be honest,” said mum Samantha Bright, 41. “We lost absolutely everything we owned and are now homeless.”

Samantha, who has two daughters aged 18 and 20, and a seven year-old son with medical conditions including epilepsy, had only moved to the address at the end of May to be closer to her son’s school.

Luckily, she and her youngest were not at home that night due to being at a friend’s wedding, and one of the her daughters was also fortunate to be away the time.

Recalling the incident, Samantha told us: “My other daughter was staying home with my son-in-law when the fire broke out.

"A strange banging noise woke her in the night, which may have been the windows popping. She thought it was a burglar breaking in, so she rang the police.

"As she was doing this my son-in-law opened the bedroom door to see what was going on and was immediately hit by smoke and flames.”

The pair barely had time to respond to the life-threatening situation, and quickly attempted to reach safety by leaping from the window of their first-floor bedroom.

“My daughter sustained minor bruises and cuts in the fall, but unfortunately by son-in-law caught the top of the bay window below when he jumped out and ended up landing on his back,” Samantha explained.

"I got a call from my daughter just before 3am, saying there was a fire. She was absolutely petrified.

“We got there within minutes and had to stand there and watch everything we own go up in flames.”

Samantha’s daughter and son-in-law were taken to hospital where an X-ray showed he had fractured two vertebrae in his spine.

"Thankfully it did not damage his spinal chord and he is out of hospital, but in a lot of pain,” Samantha said. "It was lucky their bedroom was at the front of the property otherwise they may not have survived. I’m just so thankful they did.”

The family believe the blaze was caused by a faulty solar light on a table in their rear garden. However, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue said “it was not possible to confirm specifically that a solar light battery started the fire,” adding it is “difficult to pinpoint the exact ignition source”.

"A neighbour told us he saw a fire on our patio table out of his window,” recalls Samantha. “But by the time he got outside to raise the alarm, the house was already engulfed, it was so quick.

“My son and I’s bedroom is at the back of the house, and the fire service told us we were very lucky not to have been home at the time, as we could have been killed.”

Appeal to support the family

A crowdfunding appeal set up to help the family get back on their feet has attracted around 100 donations in three days – raising more than £2,600.

“The response from the community so far has been truly humbling,” Samantha recalled. “We’ve had people we don’t even know contact us offering support and gifting furniture, but unfortunately we no longer have a house to put the furniture in.

"I had to borrow trainers from my brother and underwear from my mum, because everything we owned has now gone.”

She praised those who have helped the family so far, including Norwood Primary School, the British Red Cross, Deep-In Kindness, and their local Morrisons store.

Woodcock Homes Property Management in Peterborough, which managed the property for a private landlord, has also offered support to the family.

“It’s great to know there are some really nice people out there,” Samantha said. “I’m not sure what we will do next, we are still struggling to process things.”

Concluding, she added: “We have to start from scratch and try to rebuild our lives, but we are alive, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

If you can help the family, visit their GoFundMe page.

• Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue said of the incident: “At 2.50am on Sunday June 29 crews from Dogsthorpe, Stanground, Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, Thorney and Chatteris along with Corby (Northamptonshire) were called to a house fire on Elter Walk in Peterborough. Wearing breathing apparatus firefighters used hose reels and small gear to extinguish a fire involving a house affecting two neighbouring properties. Crews were at the scene until around 6am. The cause of the fire was accidental.”

They added: “