A mother and her children narrowly escaped a devastating house fire that destroyed their two-bedroom home in Church Village, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Louise Nash, a 39-year-old single parent, was alerted to the fire in the early hours of Friday when a neighbour warned her of smoke at the back of the house. Upon investigating, Louise saw massive flames in the garden but couldn’t smell smoke inside the house. Acting quickly, she woke her children Ollie, eight, and Ariana, six, and evacuated the property just in time before an explosion caused windows to blow out and flames to spread rapidly.
Louise described the harrowing experience, saying it sounded like the house was going to blow up. She expressed gratitude for her neighbour’s alertness and swift action that saved their lives. It took around 20 minutes for firefighters to arrive and extinguish the blaze. The fire is believed to have been accidental, possibly starting from an electrical fault in the freezer located under a flight of stairs at the back of the house.
Unable to face the trauma of assessing the damage, Louise and her children have temporarily moved into her mother’s home. Friends have described the extent of the damage, including the destruction of the kitchen ceiling, stairs, and living room, along with widespread smoke damage. Despite retrieving a few sentimental items, Louise lost almost all her possessions and did not have contents insurance. She has launched a fundraiser for support with furniture and other expenses.
Struggling with mental health issues that have been exacerbated by the fire, Louise hopes to be urgently rehomed in Church Village to be close to her children’s school and support system. Her children seem to be coping well, unaware of the danger they narrowly escaped. As they focus on the future, Louise remains traumatised by the event and expressed reluctance to return to the damaged property.