A teenager woke his family rushing them to flee their brand-new family home while fire ripped through the building. The family of five from Bargoed in Caerphilly borough – who didn’t want to be identified – are devastated with their home in Gilfach Street now looking unrecognisable.
Gwent Police, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and the Welsh Ambulance Service were all on the scene shortly before 5am on Sunday, July 24, urging people to stay away from the family home and the flats. A video taken by the family inside the house after the fire shows some of the roof missing while the inside of the property is covered in rubble.
Sister-in-law Courtney Matthews, who has been asked by the family to share their story, explained how the teenager woke in the early hours of Sunday, July 24, to loud banging from a paramedic at the door and smoke in the house believed to have entered the property from a flat next door which has also been gutted by the fire. The teenager rushed to tell the children to flee the house before then running back into the house to wake his brother and sister-in-law, Ms Matthews said.
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Thanks to the paramedic and the brave teen no-one in the three-bedroom house was badly hurt but they have been left sofa-surfing and separated while anxiously waiting for news on whether they can live in their home again. “The teenager took both the kids out and then ran back in to wake the adults,” Ms Matthews said. “Paramedics were already on the scene and had been banging on the door at 5am to get them out of the house.
“The fire came from the flats next door to the house. We are thankful they are okay and no-one required hospital treatment. But they don’t know whether they will be able to live there again.”
The family have owned the house for less than two months, she said, and the property had just been fitted with a high-spec new kitchen. “It’s awful – they literally only had the keys one to two months ago,” she said. “They have put so much effort into making it really nice.”
The family say they have been left with no possessions and have set up a fundraiser to help to restore items lost, which you can see here. “We need to help them out,” Ms Matthews added. “They have just literally bought the house and now they have no clothes, no furniture – nothing. They need the support – they have nothing at the moment because everything was so badly damaged.”
Following an investigation the fire service has deemed the cause of the incident was accidental. A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “At approximately 4.44am on Sunday we received reports of a domestic fire on Gilfach Street in Bargoed. Multiple crews from fire and rescue stations across south Wales attended the scene alongside emergency service colleagues.
“Crews used specialist equipment to extinguish the fire including hose reel jets and triple-extension ladders. Members of the public were urged to avoid the area as a safety precaution.
“A stop message was received at approximately 8.46am. Following a fire investigation the suspected cause was deemed to be accidental.”
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