Family endure third blaze at their home

Firemen were called to Tracy Kaye’s Hyde Park house after daughter Sharon Lee found a cigarette lighter in an upstairs bedroom and started a blaze that caused the family to flee their home.

“I’d just asked Sharon to go upstairs to get the jumper from her school uniform,” said 39-year-old Tracy, of Theobald Avenue.

“Whilst she was up there she must have found the lighter somewhere. The first I knew about it was when my eldest daughter shouted down the stairs to warn me and I just made sure that all the children got out of the house as soon as possible.

“A quilt in one of the upstairs bedrooms had caught light and we just couldn’t put it out so I called the fire brigade.”

Although Tracy was able to get her four children to safety, she was unable to rescue the family pet - 10-year-old Rottweiler Ellie - but luckily the firefighters were able to save the beloved family pet.

“Ellie looks after all the kids,” Tracey said. “The two youngest - Sharon and Bailey who’s three - often lie down using her as a pillow! She’s such an affectionate dog - we’re hardly ever separate.”

The blaze at 7.30am on Friday was the third to hit the property since Tracy moved in 21 years ago.

Tracey said: “One fire started in a chip pan, and when she was seven my eldest daughter Stacey was smoking a cigarette and when she heard me coming upstairs she was worried I’d catch her smoking. The cigarette caught and started another blaze. Luckily, no-one’s ever been hurt.”