Press Release

Volunteers help at fire emergency

Volunteers raced to help after a young mother and her seven-year-old barely escaped from a terrifying house fire emergency.

Volunteers Derek Morgan and Shuang Qu were called out on 9 September by the local fire service in Pontypridd, South Wales after an electrical fire devastated their home in a matter of minutes.

Helen Gough, fire and emergency support service (FESS) coordinator, also helped at the incident. She said:

"By the time we arrived in the mid-afternoon, the young child had already been taken to hospital to be checked over – thankfully, it later turned out he was okay. 

Shocked

“However, the boy’s young mum – and a friend who was staying with her at the time – had been left sitting on the pavement outside the burnt-out house.

"They were really shocked, more shaken than I’ve ever seen anyone before. They said the whole house was ablaze within minutes and that the smoke was everywhere.

"The mother was all sooty and greasy, and her face seemed sunburnt from the heat. Apparently, her son had been upstairs when the fire started and she’d tried to reach him, but thankfully the little boy managed to come downstairs by himself.”

"The poor woman, with no insurance at all, had lost absolutely everything in the blaze and was technically homeless. Even her giro had been burned.”

Fire safety

The volunteers swung into action immediately, offering shelter in their FESS vehicle and providing snacks, toiletry kits and a full set of spare clothing for both women and the child. 

They also advised on how to make a crisis loan application and handed over a form full of local authority contact numbers, outlining what the mother should do to get her life back on track.

Looking back at the incident, Helen said:

“The poor young woman and her friend didn’t seem to know many people in her street and were quite alone. If we hadn’t been there, they really would have been stuck.”

Volunteer for the fire and emergency support service