A family left homeless after a fire destroyed their home just before Christmas have made a special visit to Jersey’s Fire and Rescue Service to thank their “heroes”.
The Griffiths’ family home in St Clement was engulfed in flames. Mother Nadine and her children, 7-year-old George and 5-year-old Mollie, escaped from their home unharmed but their cat Tinka had to be rescued and resuscitated by the fire crew.
Nadine said that she was so grateful for the support they have had since the fire turned their lives upside-down.
She said: “We wish to sincerely thank the Fire Service for rescuing and reviving Tinka. They are our heroes. A simple accident took minutes to ignite an uncontrollable fire. I never thought that this would happen to us so please be warned.”
“Since the fire we have being trying to salvage some belongings of sentimental value. Losing our home with all its memories has been extremely difficult. However, we are extremely grateful that our family were uninjured.”
They have been staying with Nadine’s parents since the fire which started suddenly.
The family arrived home from the school run and Nadine stacked washing baskets by the side of the cooker while she went to her bedroom to get changed out of her wet clothes.
She said: “It was at this point that my son George ran to me screaming that the kitchen was on fire, as his bedroom is in line with the kitchen area. The fire was filling the small kitchen area so I knew there was nothing I could do. I instructed the children to run to my car to keep safe while I located the mobile phone and keys and followed.”
“The smoke damage to the rest of the property and belongings is unbelievable. The smoke gets into every corner of even closed drawers and the smell is toxic. I just want to warn others how easily and quickly these things can happen. You never think these things happen to you.”
“Our son George raised the alarm before the smoke alarm sounded and both followed good instructions to exit the house. They had been given fire safety talks in school but I think it is so important for parents to talk to children about what they should do at home in event of a fire, and know the emergency exits and assemble in a safe area.”
When the White Watch Fire crew attended they had to rescue and resuscitate the family’s cat Tinka using a pet oxygen mask. Tinka has recovered well but will have permanent damage to her lungs.
The White Watch crew used specialist equipment to treat the cat for smoke inhalation. Crews carry mini face masks, for pets, to give oxygen to domestic animals such as dogs and cats who may be overcome by smoke inhalation from a fire.
Watch Commander Paul McGrath said: “It was refreshing to hear that the input that the children had received from the fire service was used on this occasion and the alarm was raised and everyone left the property and called for assistance.”
“Please be warned that your hob is not an extension of your work surfaces and should be left clear and isolated at all times when not cooking. We attend lots of incidents where items placed on the hob have caused a fire, even if the hob has been used recently but is off, the residual heat is enough to, in the best case scenario, cause irreparable damage to the hob and worse case, devastating damage to the home and potentially loss of life.”
