POPPING a load of washing into the tumble dryer, Charlotte Baker turned it on and went about the rest of her chores.
It was just an ordinary Monday afternoon and the busy mum’s mind was occupied with what they might have for tea.
Her children Mason, seven, Arthur, six, and Delilah, three, were playing in the living room, while her eldest, Stevie, 14, was out at a friend’s.
“Mason came in and said ‘mum what’s that smell?’” says single Charlotte, 34 from Crayford, South East London.
“Suddenly, I could smell a whiff in the air too.
“I turned around to see a faint mist of smoke curling up from the tumble dryer.”
Panicked, Charlotte raced over to machine and removed all of the clothes before unplugging it and opening the kitchen window.
“The smoke seemed to vanish so I thought it was fine,” Charlotte explains.
The mum grabbed Delilah, taking her upstairs for her bath only minutes later, Mason’s voice rang out again and this time he sounded panicked.
“He was yelling ‘Mum there’s a fire!’,” Charlotte recalls.
“I raced into the kitchen and froze.
“Flames were already licking up the wall, orange light flickering off the cupboards, the heat intense.
“The smoke was already making me cough as it thickened and I had to scream at the kids to get out.
“The kids burst into tears, terrified as I ushered them out.
“I stood barefoot outside the front door of the block of flats we lived in, clutching the kids, trembling from head to toe.”
Within minutes six fire engines arrived with fire fighters battling the blaze at the family home.
But while Charlotte and her kids had made it out of the blaze safely, they soon realised one family member was missing, their beloved cat T-Rex.
“I hadn’t seen him since the smoke started,” Charlotte says.
“Then one firefighter approached me, T-Rex, our cheeky, biscuit-loving boy, was gone.
“My legs gave way beneath me as I sobbed and the children started crying too, heartbroken.”
Just over an hour later the blaze was under control but the family’s home was completely destroyed.
Charlotte says: “Everything was gone, we were left with only the clothes on our backs.
“Later, I was allowed a brief look inside, my lovely flat we’d lived in for almost five years was unrecognisable.
“Now the walls were blackened, melted plastic was everywhere, and there were ashes where memories once were.”
The family moved between Charlotte’s mums and kind neighbours’s homes before they were offered a temporary flat just 15 minutes away.
“It was exhausting, but the kindness of others kept me going,” the mum says.
“Our neighbours, friends, even strangers donated clothes and toys.
“My best friend Lottie even set up a fundraiser for us in a bid to help us rebuild our lives.”
One day Charlotte received a message out of the blue from a woman named Vicky on Facebook.
“She told me she wanted to do something nice for me and the kids after all we’d been through,” Charlotte says.
The 8 fire safety checks you should do in your home every night
TO avoid a devastating fire in your home, there are some checks you should be conducting every night, according to Gov.uk.
- Close inside doors at night to stop a fire from spreading
- Turn off and unplug electrical appliances unless they are designed to be left on – like your freezer.
- Check your cooker is turned off
- Don’t run appliances such as washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers overnight
- Turn heaters off and put up fireguards
- Put candles and cigarettes out properly
- Make sure exits are kept clear
- Keep door and window keys where everyone can find them
“She bought each of my four children a backpack for school and tucked a handwritten note inside each one.
“When she handed the bags, I cried, it was such a lovely gesture and I was so touched.
“But still my kids struggled with what had happened.
“They often asked me when we could go home but of course I had no answer for them.”
Eventually they collected T-Rex’s ashes and put them to rest in a little box.
“Sometimes we talked to him, and remembered how he used to sprawl across our beds or chase sunlight patches on the carpet,” Charlotte says.
“It hurt, but having him home, in a way, brought comfort.”
In time, the fire brigade confirmed the cause was an electrical fault in the tumble dryer.
Now, the family is living in a furnished serviced apartment – the second temporary home they’ve had since the fire.
“The rent is sky-high, and I’ve been told we’ll have to leave soon,” Charlotte says.
“And where the housing association has proposed to move us to is too far from the children’s schools.
“My MP is now involved, helping me fight for suitable housing.
“The children are scared we’re going to be homeless and it breaks my heart, some nights I lie awake, wondering what we’ll do next.”
But amid the chaos, Charlotte has managed to see the positives.
“I remind myself of one thing – we’re alive and that’s all that matters,” she adds.
“We lost everything – our home, our belongings, our beloved pet – but we didn’t lose each other. And that’s what matters most.
“Still, every night, when the house is quiet, I catch myself listening for the sound of T-Rex padding across the floor. I miss him so much.
“We’ll rebuild. Somehow.
“Because as devastating as that day was, it also showed me something beautiful – how people, even strangers, can come together when your world goes up in smoke.”
Search ‘Restore a family’ on gofundme.com for Charlotte’s fundraiser
