Stoke Fire: ‘Smoke alarms saved us’

A Stoke resident is crediting smoke alarms for saving the lives of her family after a fire tore through their home last Friday.

Hazel, who asked not to have her last name identified, has just found a new rental property for herself and her four children after the fire left their Seaview Rd home uninhabitable.

It was just after 11pm when she heard a smoke alarm at the other end of the house as she was readying for bed.

“Smoke alarms saved us, I have no doubt that if I didn’t have those smoke alarms, someone would be burying myself and my children,” she says.

Walking down the hallway to check the alarm, Hazel says she could hear the crackling sound of flames and saw the kitchen basically engulfed.

“I just screamed, I didn’t try and put it out because I knew I wouldn’t be able to.”

Her children had friends staying over, and she immediately got to getting the seven children to the safety of the neighbour’s house. That’s when the smoke overcame the rest of the house.

Standing in her driveway waiting for the fire brigade, she says she couldn’t see the house because the smoke was so thick.

“We pretty much had to stand here and watch the house burn.”

Fire and Emergency southern shift manager Alex Norris said at the time that two units from Stoke responded to the blaze at 11.20pm and were immediately joined by two units from Nelson and another from Richmond.

“Initial reports show the fire started in the kitchen.”

Crews were on site until around 2am but returned on Saturday after a hotspot flared, reigniting the home. A fire investigator was also on site on Saturday morning to determine the cause of the blaze. The fire blazed through the roof cavity, causing much of the ceiling to collapse throughout the home.

Hazel says the fact that her 10-year-old son wants to be a firefighter meant the family had been extra vigilant with a plan and had smoke alarms throughout the house.

“We have spent quite a bit of time over the years visiting fire stations and watching fire trucks.”

She says, after this experience he “absolutely” still wants to be a firefighter.

The gravity of the situation has started to sink in over the last few days.

“You’re in shock initially and I was worried about the kids, making sure they were ok. This was our home, we’ve lived here for nearly four years. It has had a massive impact on us.”

The family lost basically all of their belongings and will need to slowly rebuild their things. Contents insurance had lapsed with the cost of living increasing.

“It was between the contents and my car at one point, I really regret that now.”

Hazel would like to thank the community for rallying around her family in their time of need, particularly Stoke’s Vinnies, Destiny Church and Birchwood School.

“I’d like to thank people for their donations, bless them, it’s been so massive to our hearts.”

And from Hazel, one final message: “Put smoke alarms in your house.”

You can donate to the family at here.