Dealing with the aftermath of our house fire

****Update 20/4****

Well, I have been absolutely stunned by how generous everyone has been! I had a wee cry to myself when I got home from Soot Mountain (my actual house) tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Hi everyone,

Our home in Kincardine, Fife, caught fire three weeks ago while my two sons and I were, thankfully, on a day out.

The kitchen, where the fire originated, and everything in it, (as you can see in the photo), including the boiler and all appliances, was destroyed, and there was significant smoke damage throughout the rest of the house, rendering it uninhabitable.

Unfortunately our much loved dog and cat, Calla and Taika, died from smoke inhalation.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and, if I could turn back the clock, make different choices in the lead up to, and on the day of the fire, including not leaving the dog behind, I would.

But I can't and, trust me, nobody regrets that, or is kicking themselves harder about that, than me.

We are, however, where we are, and the fact is that the work that needs doing isn't covered by insurance, and we need to make the house habitable again as soon as possible because the temporary accommodation provided by the council is being withdrawn in the coming days.

My friend and I have made a great start by ripping out the burnt kitchen, and appliances, ourselves, and taking it back to the joists, insulation and pipework. My friend kindly paid for a skip, which we managed to fill in 4 days! I am still disposing of smoke damaged items of furniture, soft furnishings and personal possessions as I go through each room in the house - necessary, yet soul-destroying, as you can imagine!

The plumber, Ronnie Collins, has safely removed the melted boiler, the electrician, Tom Graham, has worked to restore the electricity, and the joiner, Jamie Higney, is in the process of installing a new-to-me front door and kitchen window. I can't thank these tradesmen enough for their help, support and being so quick off the mark!

In order to make the house habitable, and before I can even think about painting or replacing anything, I need to be able to clean all the soot and smoke damage from the house, which is a four stage, labour intensive process. I was quoted £15000, £12000 and £8500 this week to have this work done professionally, and, as a single parent to a 14 yr old and a 10 yr old, on a very limited income, there is no way I can afford that!

To make the house habitable, I also need to plasterboard and plaster the kitchen, my bedroom (which is directly above the kitchen) and the bathroom ceiling (which melted!), restore heating and hot water (new boiler - like for like to avoid additional pipework costs - £2000), and have somewhere to prepare food, cook and wash.

I know only too well how very tight times are for many people right now. The cost of living, rents, mortgages, food, fuel etc have all gone up to a shocking extent in the last year, and for those reasons I have really struggled morally with the thought of launching a Go Fund Me at all.

But, the fact is, to get the house back into a habitable condition as soon as humanly possible, and under my present circumstances, I need 0to fundraise as much as possible.

If I had any other option than to reach out publicly at this point, I would take it, believe me.

So, if you want, and are able, to donate any amount, no matter how small, I would be incredibly grateful. If you can't but want to share this, please do - the more the merrier!

The boys and I just want this whole nightmare to be over, and for normal life to resume as soon as possible, and your help via this Go Fund Me will make all the difference in achieving that.

I will, of course, update this post as work to make the house habitable again gets under way.

In the meantime, thank you so much for reading, sharing and, if you are able to, and want to, donating.

Lisa

Xxxx