WE’VE LOST EVERYTHING
Family escapes house fire
A GATTON mother has recalled the frantic rescue effort to save her family from a house fire.
Charlene Manuel was woken by a loud bang about 4am yesterday when fire took hold in her Hill St rental home.
Waking her family of 10, Ms Manuel passed her children out windows as her partner searched frantically for her 10-year-old granddaughter missing inside.
“The fire was that intense it blew the windows out on the side of the carport (which) started leaning down onto the car and burning the car,” she said.
The family escaped mostly uninjured, with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
A GATTON family has lost everything except their passports and clothes they were wearing after their home was destroyed yesterday.
Five adults and five children were inside the Hill St house when a loud bang woke them about 4am.
Tenant Charlene Manuel said her priority was getting everybody out safely.
“Everything was up in flames; everything was gone, there was nothing for us to do but get the kids away,” Ms Manuel said. “The fire was that intense it blew the windows out on the side of the carport (which) started leaning down onto the car and burning the car.”
Children were passed out windows and carried through doors to safety.
Ms Manuel said the flames were so severe she couldn’t tell which child she was carrying.
“I yelled out to my partner Tom to get up. He went straight over to try and stamp and whack it, but then I don’t remember seeing any more flames,” she said.
Fifteen minutes after the fire started everyone was accounted for, except Ms Manuel’s 10-year-old granddaughter.
“Tommy was still in the house running around, getting burnt on the feet searching for the 10-year-old,” Ms Manuel said. “A neighbour heard my granddaughter screaming from her window, so he told her to jump.”
The family of 10 escaped with no injuries expect for Ms Manuel’s partner Tommy who was treated at Gatton Hospital for burns on his feet.
With nothing but their passports and clothes on their back, the family is lost for words.
“I don’t know what we will do now because we are New Zealand citizens so we get nothing entitled,” Ms Manuel said. “Now we’ve lost everything, I don’t know what to do.”
Homeowner Victor Odgaard said the fire cause irreversible damage.
“I don’t think it will be rebuilt,” he said.