A COWIES Hill mother had to carry her 15-month old baby and run out of her dream house as she watched it burn down. This was after an electrical fault allegedly caused a fire in the three bedroom home last Tuesday.
Sameera Safla, 39, said her husband, Adheer Hansraj, 45, woke up just before 4am to make a bottle of milk for their baby boy, Areehan.
She said he returned to their bed, but he heard the dogs barking and something burst. It sounded like glass.
“He went to check what was going on. We feared being robbed and he thought maybe the dogs dropped something in the yard. We have seven French Bulldogs. They were our babies before Adheer was born.
“But when my husband got to the passage, he felt a wave of heat over his head. When he looked up, he saw the roof was on fire. I was still asleep and woke up to him screaming for me to grab our baby and get out of the house.
“Still in a daze, I grabbed Areehan and ran in the dark to my mother, who lives in the cottage in the same premises,” she said.
Safla told her mother to keep Areehan with her and she ran back into the house to save her dogs. Her mother had called for help on the neighbourhood WhatsApp group chat and neighbours responded.
“Our neighbours helped with retrieving our dogs safely and took them to their homes. We watched helplessly as everything burned to the ground. We are always afraid of being victims of a house robbery, but robbers cannot steal your whole house. We never expected that a fire would be the reason we lose everything."
By the time the fire department had arrived, Safla said all their possessions were destroyed.
“The fire department responded quickly but because the fire started on the roof, it spread rapidly. We were told it was due to an electrical fault. We are thankful that none of us were injured and that no damage was caused to my mother’s cottage or our wooden cabin which we use for storage. To start from scratch again is very difficult. We were insured for structural damage not for the contents of our home."