A mum has been left “overwhelmed” by support from her community after a fire destroyed her family’s home and almost all of their possessions.
Some £1,905 has been donated to Louise Nash after the devastating blaze, which firefighters told her was likely caused by an electrical fault with her freezer.
South Wales Fire Service said it was called at 12.14am on Friday to the two-bedroom house at Manor Court in Church Village, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where a fire would rage for more than two hours.
A fire service spokeswoman told WalesOnline: “It is believed the cause of the fire is electrical, and originated under the stair area. There is fire damage around this area and smoke damage throughout the rest of the property.”
The single parent added: “The fire caused a gas leak which subsequently resulted in a small explosion, causing windows in the property to be blown out.”
Louise, 39, and her children Ollie, eight, and Ariana, six, escaped just seconds before their home was destroyed by the terrifying explosion.
After she told us how the home had been ravaged and her possessions destroyed with no contents insurance, there was a flurry of donations to help her cover costs like furniture and household items.
One person even donated £1,000. To Louise it is evidence of the tight-knit community spirit in her neighbourhood. She said: “I’m so overwhelmed with it all.
“I can’t believe how much support I’ve had. I never thought people would be there like they have been.” Friends and neighbours have not only made financial donations but rallied round to gift items the family might need.
Since the fire Louise and her children have been cramming into her mother’s house. Trivallis is the housing association that owns the fire-damaged house.
The organisation has told Louise that her and her children are able to move into a three-bedroom home in Church Village at the end of this week.
And Louise hopes they can stay in permanently so her children no longer have to share a room. Shortly after the fire broke out Louise was woken by a neighbour banging on her door.
Louise could not smell smoke, and initially the only flames she could see were in the back garden when she opened her kitchen curtains, so she was surprised to later be told by firefighters that they believed the fire started in a freezer under her stairs.
Seconds after she had rushed her children out of the house there was a “huge bang” from an explosion as windows blew out and flames spread rapidly, which then caused her fire alarms to go off.
Louise, who believes she has been traumatised by the incident, said: “It’s mad. The freezer had been there a good few months. I don’t want to think about it and I don’t want to ever go back to that house.”
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