A community were left devastated after a fire wrecked a family home and killed their two dogs. Fire crews rushed to reports of a blaze in Calverton on Saturday afternoon (July 2) after a neighbour called 999.
People in the area have described seeing flames billowing "black smoke" billowing into the sky at around 2pm on Labray Road. Some said that a few brave neighbours tried to extinguish the fire and rescue the dogs that were trapped inside - but with no success.
Three Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue engines attended the scene from Arnold, Stockhill and Carlton. Crews used high pressure hose reels, a thermal imaging camera and small tools to extinguish the fire.
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No nearby properties were affected, the emergency service confirmed. However, the dogs sadly died at the scene..
The family - Kevin Williamson, his wife Nikki and their two children - lost everything in the fire. They have lived at the property on Labray Road for 20 years.
Kevin's sister Melanie Williamson, has spoken on behalf of the family, adding: "My brother has been out on his motorbike, and then he came home to pick his son to go for a Covid jab. His wife was out with their daughter.
"Obviously Kevin got a phone call about 2pm to say that his house was on fire. He came back, and their next door neighbour tried to kick the doors and get the dogs because they were inside."
A 12-year-old Chihuahua named Tia and a seven month Sprocker Spaniel Diego died from smoke inhalation. The 46-year-old sister, a community nurse for the NHS, said: "All their belongings were melted in the fire. Everything was destroyed.
"They have been renting the house for 20 years, and now everything is gone. They have lived in a hotel for the last few days."
She added: "It is so important for people to know and check their fire alarms and double check them. It is so important.
"They were so lucky that it did not happen during the night, and that no one was at home. No one got injured.
"We should be grateful that it actually happened in the day and that the smoke alarms worked. Even the fire crews could not go in because it was so hot. Everything has been destroyed."
Susan Bradley, a passionate dog lover and long-term resident in the area, added: “It is really sad. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I have lost my dog Charlie like that.”
The 70-year-old said: “It is devastating for this area. It is so sad, everyone is heartbroken.”
A resident living on Labray Road road, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “I came back from shopping and I saw the fire from the back of the house and going through the front. It was a lot of smoke.”
She said: “It is obviously a tragedy for this community. I was just frightened.
“I saw the neighbours trying to get the dogs out of the house. It was so sad.
“We have never seen anything like this happening around here. It is the first fire we have had and I hope we will not see more.”
Other neighbours said they had to shut their windows. The black smoke was billowing into the sky.
Karen Hope, who lives near the house that was on fire, said: “I have breathing problems anyway, so I had to quickly shut my windows straight away. It is a tragedy for our community.”
The 64-year-old, who is disabled, added: “I have never known of a fire to happen here. I thought this was a safe area.”
Another neighbour, who witnessed the tragic scene, said some residents tried to save the dogs that were trapped inside. He added: “I tried to help with extinguishing the fire until the brigades arrived. It was a lot of black smoke, it was hard to breathe."
Rachel Dennis, who is “more than a neighbour” to the family affected by the fire, added: “We have watched their children grow, it is truly a tragedy.
“We are more than neighbours, we are friends. We now watch their Guinea pigs and rabbits for them.”
The 29-year-old added: “We now have a fundraising page for them where the community can donate. We are trying to help with what we can because what they are going through right now is just horrible.”
She was the one to set up a fundraising page for the family after the tragedy. In a caption on the page, it reads: "I never thought I would have to witness anything like that especially so close to home. I can’t even imagine what they are going through at the moment it’s one thing losing your house but another losing your family pets, I’m just so glad none of them got hurt and they are all safe and well.
"So we just want to try and support them in anyway possible to try and help them through this horrible time. Obviously we don’t know how long they are going to be away from home for, so we just want to try and come together to try and raise them a little bit of money to help them to replace the things they lost, and just give them a bit of support towards living for the next few weeks.
"Any donations are welcome and very much appreciated by myself for the support and most importantly I know the family will be very much appreciated too." More than £300 have been raised towards the cause at the time of the publication.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service confirmed that fire was concluded to be accidental. Station Manager Richard Ellis said “This was an upsetting incident, and our thoughts are with those affected. It is worth saying that the residents had closed the internal doors, so the fire was contained to the living room. The property’s smoke alarm also gave an early warning to neighbours, who rang 999.
"Without both, this fire would have been even more severe.” Fire engines left the scene shortly after 4pm on the same day. Crews were in the local community over the following days to reassure and give fire safety advice.
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