Exclusive:"You don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you”: Family homes go up in flames on Sheffield estate
“You see it happen, but you don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you”
A massive fire has left a number of homes in ruins after a terrifying blaze spread through a row of terraced houses.
Throughout Thursday morning (July 23) families dressed in their pyjamas and dressing gowns sat along Fox Hill Road in shock as firefighters battled to save their homes on the Sheffield street.
Emergency services were called in at 4am when a blaze, said to have started in a nearby field, spread to nearby properties.
“[Firefighters] banged on the door and we ran out with the kids as quickly as we could,” Jim Stevens, who was let back into his home around 9am, recalled.”
Five homes in total were damaged by the fire and another five to the rear, on Grimsell Crescent, were damaged due to heat from the flames.
“We’re just shocked - we can’t believe it,” said Russel and Amy Sanderson, who were told their home is “uninhabitable”.
“You see it happen, but you don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you.”
Pictures reveal how homes have been left as burnt out shells, with one now completely missing its roof.
Others have suffered structural damage, while on the gardens on the street are covered in ash.
Neighbouring homes saw their windows warped due to the heat.
Police set up a cordon around the residential block, offering out bottles of water to evacuated residents, some of whom brought their pets to safety including a family who dragged a rabbit cage from their garden.
Lisa Abbot waited on the street with her cat Dotty, who she quickly scooped up when rushing out of the house in the early hours.
“It was horrible,” she added.
“My husband went to the toilet and he came and woke me up. He said someone’s shed was on fire.
“So I’ve gone to the bathroom to have a look - I realised it was spreading really fast, so I said ‘we’ve got to get dressed and get out’.
“I woke my daughter up and then the police were banging on the door saying ‘get out, get out’.”
She said the burning homes “went up like a roman candle” while she stood at the other side of the street watching firefighters respond.
As she was waiting to be let back into her home, she added: “I’m relieved now, I just feel bad for them.”
Brother and sister Vanessa and George Oji called emergency services around 4am when they spotted the fire outside their window.
Jim said they had “saved his life”.
“It spread really quickly,” he continued.
“We were only outside for less than five minutes and it spread quickly.
“These two saved my life.”
Station manager Tom Robjohns, of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said: “We were called to this property, to reports of a fire in the open at around 4am this morning.
“On arrival we saw a fully developed fire that was spreading to properties.
“At the height, we had eight fire engines in attendance and I would like to pass my thanks to not just our crews, but also our control room and also to the partner agencies who attended at the time to bring this incident under control.”
UPDATE: An arrest has been made over the fire.