Neighbours woken by mum's screams as fire destroys family home

A family whose home went up in flames after an electric bike battery is believed to have exploded in the kitchen have been left with nothing. Jess Ward and her two children have nothing but the clothes on their backs and a single Pyrex dish that withheld the flames that engulfed their home in Ellesmere Port on Sunday morning.

At 6.30am on Sunday, September 8 neighbours woke to the harrowing screams of the 30-year-old mum as she shouted for help. They opened their curtains to see a fire ripping through the semi-detached home as Jess stood outside “hysterical” with her two young children.

Neighbour Laura Lee, 36, told the ECHO how she instantly recognised the screams for help. She said: “It was about 6am, I had woken up to take some tablets because I hadn’t been feeling well and I always leave my bedroom windows open.

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"Jess’ house is directly opposite mine, about ten steps away. I just heard screaming, she was shouting 'help, help me the house is on fire.' I knew it was Jess straight away because I recognised her voice.

"I looked through the blinds and she was standing outside on the street with the two kids - she had been woken up by a friend who was staying with her who told her the house was on fire.”

Laura and her partner, Brad, rushed outside and phoned the fire service. Laura said Brad had tried to run into the burning house to bring the electric bike out of the kitchen but the smoke was too thick. She said: “It was horrendous, it was already too bad to go inside.

"I took Jess and the kids over to Sharon’s [another neighbour] and Jess’ next-door neighbour also had to evacuate their house. I was trying to calm Jess down because she was hysterical and in absolute shock.

“It turns you cold hearing those screams, it was heart-breaking. It was horrendous watching someone’s life going up in smoke like that.

"They had the clothes on their back and that was it, they had lost everything. There is nothing at all.

"A Pyrex jug was the only thing that survived the fire. When Jess walked past one of the firefighters they said to her ‘you are so lucky to have gotten out of that house.’

“She [Jess] was hysterical. Her eldest is three - she is traumatised. They have all been checked over and thank god they're all OK, but Jess is still very shaken up.”

Their home was completely destroyed, leaving Jess, her three-year-old daughter, and one-year-old son with nothing. They are currently staying in a hotel before being moved into temporary accommodation, where they will stay until they can rebuild their lives and move back in.

Laura said they are a close-knit group of neighbours and have all rallied together to help Jess and her kids as much as they can. One neighbour, Sharon Jones, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to replace the family’s destroyed belongings.

She said: “The neighbours are all trying to help, we’re quite close, it's a little cul-de-sac where we live so if anyone needs help we all help. She has got nothing so we have set up the GoFundMe to try and replace some of their stuff. She's a single mum with two small kids, she has absolutely nothing.

"She will be moving back into the house in about six months, but she will have nothing to move in for her family. Until then she will be in temporary accommodation. She is staying in a hotel with the kids at the moment.” You can donate to the GoFundMe here.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service reported: "Crews were called to reports of a fire in a terraced property. On arrival they found the ground floor well alight and the whole house heavily smoke logged. Wearing breathing apparatus they used a hose reel water jet to extinguish the fire and high powered fan to clear smoke.

"Neighbouring properties were checked for signs of any fire spread. Smoke detectors had been fitted and raised the alarm. All occupants were accounted for. One person was taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary checks.

"An initial investigation suggests the fire started accidentally, with an electric bicycle in the kitchen the mostly likely cause. Crews and community safety colleagues will return to the area to undertake home safety checks and offer safety advice in the coming days."