A mother has been left with nothing after a devastating fire, sparked by a simple electrical mistake, tore through her newly renovated home on Boxing Day evening.
The moment the blaze took hold
Sarah Nicholas was inside her home in Tylorstown, Wales, with her 17-year-old son Kenzie and her partner, Gavin Griffiths, on the evening of 26 December. They were watching television around 9pm when a neighbour urgently banged on the window.
Paula Lewis, who lived two doors away, had been in her garden with her partner looking at the stars when she noticed a strong smell of smoke, sparks, and a crackling sound coming from Sarah's property. "We ran up to the house and banged on the window and door," Paula recounted. "Everything kicked off and there was smoke everywhere."
A tragic and common cause
Sarah managed to get everyone, including the family dog Coba, out of the burning house safely. Tragically, the family's pet parakeet died in the fire. Fire crews from Treorchy and Tonypandy Stations attended the scene just after 9.30pm and worked until nearly midnight to extinguish the blaze.
In the aftermath, Sarah was told the likely cause: an overheating extension lead. She explained that she had coiled up a long lead powering a second fridge in a lean-to, which was filled with extra Christmas food, thinking it would be tidier. "The fire brigade said it should have been left unravelled," she said. Fire services confirmed the blaze is believed to have been caused by the overheating of extension leads.
Facing the future without insurance
The consequences are catastrophic for Sarah, who had no buildings or contents insurance. "Not having insurance was the worst mistake of my life," she admitted, stating it had been on her to-do list for a year. The fire destroyed the back extension containing the kitchen and bathroom, with the rest of the property ruined by smoke damage.
"I have lost everything," Sarah said. "I was not crying at the time. It still hasn't hit me. I'm in shock." She is currently staying with her nephew while sifting through the debris for anything salvageable. Her sister, Cody Tarran, described the house as Sarah's "dream home," recently converted from two to three bedrooms.
Sarah has issued a stark warning to others, urging them to ensure they have adequate home insurance and to never coil up extension leads. Her family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with recovery. Reflecting on the narrow escape, neighbour Paula said, "God forbid if we had not seen it... It shows how quickly a fire takes hold."
