RESIDENT Susan Rawlings has thanked neighbours and White Horse Housing Association staff for the way they rallied round after a fire tore through her kitchen in the middle of the night.
Susan was alerted by her 27-year-old daughter Sophie to a fire that had begun in a neighbour’s garden shortly after 1am on April 27 at The Mountings in Wroughton. “At first she knocked on my bedroom door and asked if I was burning candles but 20 minutes later she was banging on it saying there's a fire in the garden and the fence is on fire,” she said.
“At first it was a very gentle fire on top of the fence but then it just went whoosh. I was watching it and I was thinking ‘oh my God, it's getting bigger and bigger’.”
The pair went outside to call the fire brigade and were soon joined by neighbours who offered hot drinks, blankets and somewhere to shelter. By the time firefighters arrived Susan’s kitchen was well alight.
Although mother and daughter were safe, there was still the need for a rescue. “Sophie has a pet snake, a Royal Python called Dorian,” said Susan. “I told the fire brigade he was in there but they failed to mention to the firefighters in the house that he was in a cage. They just said ‘there's a snake in the lounge’. I said ‘you could have told tell them it's caged’. One of them wasn't too chuffed because he doesn't like them.”
Dorian is now safe and sound and staying with a neighbour while Susan and Sophie are living in a hotel until the fire-damaged house is repaired and their kitchen is rebuilt.
“Everyone at White Horse has been really helpful and the neighbours have been amazing, I can’t thank them enough,” said Susan. “Everyone here is friendly but they have been even more friendly than usual. We’ve been popping back to pick up things and everyone comes out to say hello and they send messages to let us know what’s happening with the house.
“We’re desperate to get back in and hopefully it won’t be too long a wait.”
White Horse Operations Director Belinda Eastland said a Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service investigation into the cause of the fire has been inconclusive. “We probably won’t ever know what caused the fire,” she said. “But what we have seen is how wonderful the community spirit is in our housing schemes and we want to thank everyone in The Mountings for the kindness they have shown Susan and Sophie.”
Susan said the fire has made her more conscious about closing doors at night. “Luckily I always close the kitchen door, which stopped the fire doing more damage,” she said. “I also think how lucky it is that both Sophie and I don’t go to bed early. I’m not sure what would have happened if we’d both been asleep.”