'Frightening' vacuum cleaner fire destroys family home

A family from Coventry say they face months of living in a hotel, after a fire in their kitchen destroyed much of the downstairs of their home.

The fire broke out in a vacuum while Billie Osborne was at home in the Binley area of the city with her 16-month-old son.

She ran to neighbours for help and the fire service was called, but the flames tore through the downstairs of their home.

Osborne said: "It's incredibly frightening and when I'm in the house now, it's just flashbacks. I'm thinking about it constantly."

She added: "I was hoovering the floor and I stopped because I heard a weird noise and the hoover stopped as well... I see underneath the worktop at the back, at the bottom was a flame.

"I just grabbed my 16-month-old son, got out of the house and made sure my dogs [were] out the house as well."

West Midlands Fire Service said they were called to the home shortly after 15:05 BST on Thursday 23 April.

In a statement they continued: "A fire engine from Sheldon and a fire engine from Binley attended, arriving to find a fire on the ground floor of a two-storey terraced house.

"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire, which is believed to have started accidentally."

Paramedics were also called to the fire to check Osborne and her baby son over, after they suffered smoke inhalation.

The 25-year-old said she and her son had also been to the GP to be checked.

"The smoke has affected his ears... and it's really inflamed all up my nose from the smoke."

The home is owned by Citizen Housing who said their "priority has been the safety and wellbeing of the residents".

They have arranged for a hotel for the family to stay in and "are providing ongoing support while the situation is resolved."

Citizen Housing also said they are now working with their insurers.

Bridget Guilfoyle, Director of Asset Management at Citizen, said: "At this stage, the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and we are working with relevant partners and our insurer to establish the full circumstances."

"We are currently assessing the extent of the damage to the property, and will work with our insurers to progress the necessary repairs."

Although Citizen Housing are overseeing the work to repair the home, the family don't have contents insurance, so face replacing the smoke damaged clothes, furniture and toys themselves.

As well as her toddler, Osborne has a five-year-old daughter who was at school at the time of the fire.

"The kids rooms upstairs have been aired, but it still stinks and obviously toys and some clothes can be washed, but not all.

Osborne continued: "I don't really trust the toys because I still think there's going be a bit of either soot or smoke damage on the toys and I don't want the kids putting them in their mouths.

"Just near enough everything needs replacing."

A crowdfunding page has been set up on GoFundMe by the family, to try to cover the cost of replacing everything. It has raised about £1,200 so far.

The stay-at-home mum said without that support they would not be able to afford to cover the costs of buying the replacements.

"It's just me doing this on my own with my partner. We wouldn't be able to afford it. It's a lot of money so everyone that's donated has really, really helped us out.

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