Hollie Meehan believes a frayed wire caused the blaze, which completely destroyed her home, meaning she and her young son are now living in a caravan.
A young mum is lucky to be alive after she popped out for a cup of tea and returned to find her two-bedroom house on fire – telling how she believes the blaze was sparked by a frayed wire.
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Hollie Meehan believes a frayed wire caused the blaze, which completely destroyed her home, meaning she and her young son are now living in a caravan.
Just 10 minutes after Hollie Meehan, 23, left her home to visit a relative who lived nearby, her phone started “ringing like crazy,” with a panicked neighbour saying her home was alight.
But, despite “losing everything,” Hollie, a carer, of Felixstowe, Suffolk, said she is thankful to have survived, fearing that, had it happened as they slept, the July 9 blaze would have claimed hers and Tien’s lives.
“They said the blaze was down to an electrical fault, which I now believe was a frayed wire for my fish tank, the same size as a phone charger.”
Hollie told how the drama unfolded last month, when she popped out to visit her aunt Lisa Woods for a cup of tea, and to collect some toys for Tien.
“She just said, ‘You need to come home, your house is on fire.’ I went into a state of shock and raced back .”
“Turned out my neighbour had Red, and Candy had run off, probably terrified, so I knew those two were safe. But it scared me that I couldn’t even see my house, just black smoke.”
Thankfully, all the animals made it out alive – but the home, a two-bedroom council house, was completely destroyed.
Seeing the devastation caused brought home for Hollie how lucky she and Tien had been to survive.
That night, she was taken in by a friend, while Tien went to her mum’s.
“The fire had started in my room, spread to the hallway and Tien’s room. I managed to get some of his clothes and toys out, but the only thing I managed to save of mine was a memory box which I had stored precious keepsakes in, like Tien’s first birthday candle and a piece of his hair.”
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Just 10 minutes after Hollie Meehan, 23, left her home to visit a relative who lived nearby, her phone started “ringing like crazy,” with a panicked neighbour saying her home was alight.
After the inferno – which she claims was started by a damaged fish tank wire – ravaged the house she spent thousands renovating, she and her young son Tien Meehan-Smith, four, have been unable to return and are now living in a caravan.
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But, despite “losing everything,” Hollie, a carer, of Felixstowe, Suffolk, said she is thankful to have survived, fearing that, had it happened as they slept, the July 9 blaze would have claimed hers and Tien’s lives.
Hollie, who is also training to be a hairdresser, said: “The firefighters told my mum, Mandy Meehan, 51, if it had been the evening, and we had been asleep, she would be planning our funerals because we’d have been so overcome by the smoke.
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“They said the blaze was down to an electrical fault, which I now believe was a frayed wire for my fish tank, the same size as a phone charger.”
She continued: “I never even noticed it was a bit damaged, never mind could cause so much destruction.
“But despite everything, we feel so thankful to be here.”
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Hollie told how the drama unfolded last month, when she popped out to visit her aunt Lisa Woods for a cup of tea, and to collect some toys for Tien.
After dropping her son off at her disabled mum Mandy’s house en route, she was loading her car up with the presents when her phone started going off.
She recalled: “I thought I must be popular by the amount it was buzzing, but when I did answer, my panicked neighbour Ellen was on the other end.
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“She just said, ‘You need to come home, your house is on fire.’ I went into a state of shock and raced back .”
When she arrived at the bottom of her street five minutes later, billowing black smoke greeted a terrified Hollie.
She continued: “We have a lot of pets – a rescue dog called Red, a Boxer Staffie Cross called Candy, a hedgehog and the fish – so I was panicking about where they all were.
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“Turned out my neighbour had Red, and Candy had run off, probably terrified, so I knew those two were safe. But it scared me that I couldn’t even see my house, just black smoke.”
With four fire trucks tackling the blaze and the police on scene, Tien soon arrived with Hollie’s mum.
Petrified, the youngster repeatedly asked his mum if his beloved pets were okay.
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Thankfully, all the animals made it out alive – but the home, a two-bedroom council house, was completely destroyed.
“I was speechless. Seeing your own home destroyed like that was like a bad dream. It was our family house where we had so many special memories,” said Hollie.
When the blaze was eventually put out after 10 minutes, firefighters began removing charred items of furniture from the house.
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Seeing the devastation caused brought home for Hollie how lucky she and Tien had been to survive.
She continued: “It was only when I saw my mattress, which had been so badly burnt that there was only half left, lying in front of my house, that I realised we could have died.”
After doing a thorough sweep of the property, investigators broke the news to single mum Hollie, who split with Tien’s dad two years ago, that it was too damaged to return to.
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That night, she was taken in by a friend, while Tien went to her mum’s.
Then, the next day, she returned to collect anything that could be salvaged.
“Almost everything of mine was ruined. I couldn’t be in the house for longer than 10 minutes at a time because the smell of burning was so overpowering,” she said.
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“The fire had started in my room, spread to the hallway and Tien’s room. I managed to get some of his clothes and toys out, but the only thing I managed to save of mine was a memory box which I had stored precious keepsakes in, like Tien’s first birthday candle and a piece of his hair.”
Now, Hollie is living in a caravan whilst the council arrange a new home for the young family.
Frustratingly for her, she never took out contents insurance because she never thought she would need it.
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But touchingly, the community have rallied, providing her with clothes and toys for her son.
“I didn’t have insurance. I thought everything would be covered by the warranties so just put off getting it,” she said.
“I’ve learnt the hard way, but so many of my friends have now gone out and got insurance, so hopefully this won’t happen to anyone else.
“We really have lost everything, but people have been amazing and we just feel lucky to be alive.”
Suffolk police have confirmed they are not investigating the fire and did not find it to be suspicious.
A spokesman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: “To reduce the risk of fires in the home we would urge people not to overload plug sockets.”
More safety advice can be found at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/around-the-home/overloading-sockets
