Daughter Kendra Burrows is appealing for help after a devastating blaze swept through the home of her elderly parents, who have been left traumatised by their ordeal
The family of an elderly couple who lost precious mementoes when a weed burner blaze ripped through their bungalow has launched a desperate appeal for help.
Fire broke out on Saturday in the home in Prestatyn, North Wales, when Brenda Burrows, 83, used the weed burner – a device which applies intense heat to unwanted plants to destroy them – on her driveway.
With temperatures high and windy that day, embers from the treated weeds are believed to have swept under the garage door of the home in a freak accident.
A blaze then quickly took hold despite Brenda’s best efforts to dampen it which left the couple’s garage “100 percent damaged” and brought down ceilings and ruined furnishings in the home as well as wiping out precious memories.
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Brenda’s other half of more than 40 years Harold Sharp, who turned 90 the day after the fire, suffers from dementia and poor mobility and was watching TV when fire began to rip through the home. He was rescued by four neighbours, one of whom smashed a window to reach the elderly gent.
“My parents are very traumatised,” said the couple’s daughter Kendra Burrows, 55. “They’re both in total shock.
“My dad has dementia so he keeps forgetting the house has been on fire, he keeps asking to go home which is impossible.”
Kendra was working in South Wales when she received a phone call from her sister Toni, who lives in Wigan, Lancs. “An old friend had contacted her through Facebook,” she said. “I answered the phone and my sister was screaming, saying the house was on fire. When I realised it was my mum’s house, it was just total panic.”
Brenda and Harold had lived in their home for 40 years and their family say it wasn’t insured, meaning Kendra has launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds to repair the damage and get her parents moved back in as quickly as they can. The couple, who have six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, have been living with Kendra in Rhyl since Saturday and are about to move into temporary accommodation which is more suitable for their mobility needs.
Brenda and Harold’s loved ones have already hired a skip to remove items destroyed in the blaze with the funds they’ve already raised. Shocking photos taken on Saturday show a huge plume of black smoke rising up from the couple’s home with a burning fireball at its core. Inside the home, pictures taken after the blaze show insulation hanging through destroyed ceilings.
Kendra, whose parents have moved into her home in Rhyl, said she had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the local community. “We’ve had so many messages,” she said. “We are so touched and grateful for all the help that has been offered.”
A spokesperson from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service told the Rhyl Journal: “We were called to a fire… at 5.15pm on Saturday, May 17. The fire caused 100 percent damage to the garage of the property. Four crews attended. The casualties were given a precautionary check at the scene.”
Caution should always be taken when using weed burners, with the risk of uncontrolled fires heightening in dry or windy weather.
