Barry Tordoff - Dad's House Fire Repairs

Me and my sister are setting up this Go Fund Me page as a family, an hope and pray that we are able to raise the vital funds for our dad’s house fire repairs, so he can return home.

In April 2023, he had a house fire, due to an unattended chip pan setting fire. Our dad had fallen asleep and unfortunately, the pan set on fire. Thankfully, he was extremely lucky and only burnt his hand and arm. Sadly, his house didn’t fare as well and has been virtually destroyed.

Our dad did have house insurance at the time, but the insurance company have said that the policy is void and have therefore withdrawn all their help and have refused to pay for the damage to his home. This was a very genuine error on our dad’s part as he did not fill in the form correctly.

A little about our dad,

Our dad is 76 and disabled, he has mobility problems and is unable to walk or stand for very long periods of time. He also has an aneurysm which the hospital has said could burst at any time. The stress our dad is under from the fire and the length of time he is away from his home, has caused him severe anxiety and his mental health has suffered greatly.

For a couple of months after the fire, he lived in his caravan on his drive. He had no toilet or water in the caravan or even electricity. I am sure you can image that this was not acceptable for a 76 year old and was absolutely heart breaking to see. We finally persuaded him to move to a camp site, which he agreed to do and he has been on the site for over 3 months now. We are greatly concerned that he is still living in his caravan and the cold weather is approaching fast.

The fire damage has destroyed his home, the kitchen completely and a lot of the roof. There is smoke damage throughout the property. Plus, many repairs are also needed.

Our dad has very little money, and the money he has is currently being used to pay for the camp site fees.

We have a fantastic builder on board and have had some amazing help from local businesses and kind hearted volunteers who have helped us clear the house (not an easy task) due to our dad being a hoarder. Without any of their help and support, we honestly don’t think our dad would still be with us now.

We understand completing the house will not be an easy task, but the only thing stopping us commencing the work is money - we have none - and we desperately need approximately £30k for the work to commence. We have been told that this figure could increase too, as once work starts, further repairs could be needed.

This is so much money and really out of our reach. We are therefore asking in the great hope you may be able to help us as a family, an bring a glimmer of hope, especially to our dad, by donating even £1, as it all adds up and would mean the world to us.

If we are lucky enough to have any funds left over, we would love for them to go to a local community group, called Community Bees, whose support and understanding has been invaluable in the aftermath of the fire. They support people experiencing loneliness and isolation, provide hoarding support and make a difference to people who society have otherwise forgotten.

In kind hope.

Jane and Karen xxx