A Leeds family who had their home burnt down in 2020 are still unable to live in their home due to the extent of damage.
On January 4, 2020, around 3.40am a house fire happened at a house in Manor Grove, Chapel Allerton. Edyta and Llowell Wlodeck and their eight-year-old daughter Cassita escaped the huge blaze with just the clothes on their back.
"Our family home burned down with everything but our lives", Edyta said. Harrowing footage after the fire shows the staircase of the home destroyed, smashed windows, the roof partly missing and caved in, and special belongings including Cassita's favourite toys completely destroyed
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"Our street woke up to the terrible sight of Edyta, Llowell and Cassie's home up in flames," friend and neighbour Vicky Thirlaway said. "There was very little that could be salvaged." The family managed to save some baby pictures of Cassita.
The incident happened during lockdown - when the family's only place to go was their home which had been destroyed. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time", friend Vicky added.
They found residency in a rental property, and thought it would be a few months before they could move back home. It has been two years, and the family are still unable to live in their home together.
After the fire happened, and with help from neighbours and friends, Edyta and Llowell began by working on removing anything burnt or smoked lintels, ceilings, floor joist, stripping and removing plaster board so that everything is back to the original red brick walls.
The family were told in order to get back into their home it would cost £50,000 to do. Edyta runs a business buying and restoring online, but with Covid restrictions and set backs, the family couldn't afford to build their home back up.
"Our home rebuild is more difficult than we thought due to the extreme amount of work that needs to be done", Edyta said. Neighbours Vicky and Alison decided to help and set up a crowd funding page for the family.
"Cutbacks had to happen, and as a result, they were uninsured. This means every single penny of the £50k rebuilding will take is on them", Vicky added.
The family started rebuilding some of the home, but two years on they have not been able to raise enough funds to move back in. In an update on Tuesday, September 20, Edyta said: "It's been so long since we've made progress. Unfortunately we haven't been able to raise enough money to rebuild the house as it was.
"With the cost of living at the moment and the cost to rebuild everything from scratch it is almost impossible but we haven't given up yet. As I am self employed I had to get back to work as much as I can at the same time as the rebuild but also look after the family and I admit this whole experience haven't been easy on my physical and mental health."
She added: "We are nearly at the end of this year and this will be our second year without our home. There is still so much work to do but it is all beyond our experience and cost. Most of the work is joinery and neither of us have any experience in wood work.
"In the mean time we will carry on with smaller jobs that we can do to help ourselves with the progress. I don't know how long this fundraiser can stay active but I will do my best. Thank you and God bless to anyone still following our story."
The couple began doing a lot of work on the home themselves. They used mainly reclaimed and second hand materials and tools.
But with using second hand materials fitting door frames or windows in the home proved difficult. Edyta said: "We couldn't get any support from any windows companies so we had to find alternatives at lower prices. There is still so much more that's needed, like the flooring material across the house, rewiring the electric and plumbing everywhere. Plastering all the walls and fitting doors and windows.
"From what we raised up to now we ware able to stay somewhere else, buy necessary materials, hire tools and equipment for our home rebuild. It's sad some people say comments like why is taking you two so long to get it done but that's the reality when you do it all by yourself.
"There is still so much more needed just to make the house safe, like flooring, plasterboard's, rewiring the whole house, plumbing and heating. Unfortunately we can't do much more without reaching the target."
"We are forever grateful for the help we have received but most of the weight is on our shoulders and it isn't easy. We thank God for giving us the strength to carry on.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel."
"Edyta and Llowell have been inspiring with the resilience and sheer grit they've shown but there's a long, long road ahead still", Vicky added.
To donate to help the Wlodek family build their home back up click here.
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