Belfast pensioners left homeless after kitchen fire spreads through their home
An elderly couple from Belfast have been left homeless after a shocking fire at their home earlier this week.
Mary and Sammy Hinton were getting ready to have dinner at their home in the Shankill area on Thursday, September 12, when their extractor fan exploded and a fire quickly spread through their bungalow.
The couple were able to escape from the home with just a few cuts and bruises, thanks to neighbours running in to their aid. However, they have lost many of their possessions in the blaze, and are now tasked with rebuilding from the ashes.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, the couple's daughter, Gemma, said they are in complete shock following the incident. She said: "My mum turned the oven and extractor fan on to heat the two of them up some dinner. As she turned the extractor fan on, it exploded in her face.
"After the initial explosion, it caught fire onto the kitchen cupboards and then because they're in a bungalow, it went up into the roof into their loft. It spread throughout their kitchen, dining room, and living room.
"My parents are both on zimmer frames and have a wide range of medical conditions, and two of their neighbours ran right in and got them out. How they got out of the house with the tiniest cuts and bruises is beyond me; the damage is so bad.
"I live at the top of the street and when it happened, one of my neighbours near put my window in. I heard the sirens but didn't know what was going on, and she started squealing at me 'your mummy and daddy's house is on fire.'
"You could see and smell the smoke before you could even see the house, that's how bad it was. If it happened in the middle of the night, the two of them wouldn't be here today - it's so scary."
Mary and Sammy are currently homeless, and have been told repairs at their home could take around six weeks to complete. In the meantime, they have been placed in a care home, but the impact of the fire is starting to impact them.
Gemma said: "There was talk of them having to go around hotels for a few weeks until the works are done, but I was able to contact their social worker who rang around and got them into a care home in East Belfast which is completely adapted for their needs.
"The carers in the home have been amazing, they pulled together and got them toiletries and a wee blanket each, just to kind of try and make them feel a wee bit more at home because they literally have two or three changes of clothes with them and that's it.
"They're being very well looked after in the care home, but reality is really kicking in for them. My mummy has done nothing but cry since Thursday evening, she's done nothing but panic because she just doesn't know how the two of them are going to be able to rebuild again, especially at their age.
"My dad said they're being treated really well and the carers can't do enough for them, but he just wants to go home. He wanted to go straight back home on Friday morning but obviously he can't, you know, he wanted to go home and live in the bedroom with no electric or gas."
Gemma has praised the local community for their support following the ordeal. In the days after the blaze, the community rallied together and started up a fundraiser to help Mary and Sammy replace some of the more expensive household items they lost.
"Where they live is usually pretty quiet, but everybody pulled together to help them. They were taken out of the house and put on garden chairs in the street," Gemma said.
"They were given blankets, tea and coffee, everything just kind of appeared, eveyone came out to help, it was like that old fashioned community spirit. Everybody came from everywhere to do what they could to help them."
You can donate to the fundraiser for Mary and Sammy Hinton by clicking here.
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