Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
70-year-old left to watch ‘toaster fire’ rip through home
Dramatic pictures show all that is left of a pensioner’s kitchen following a devastating house fire on Sunday.
Sharon Carr, 70, was left clutching her beloved dog Sparky as she watched flames rip through her home in Priest Avenue, Canterbury. She was asleep upstairs in the terraced council house when the blaze broke out shortly after 11pm.
Emergency crews who investigated the scene believe the fire was sparked by “discarded smoking materials”.
But Ms Carr says a faulty toaster was to blame, telling how her cousin called up the stairs to warn her of the flames.
“He had put some bread in the toaster and it caught fire,” she said.
“He tried to put it out but it got worse. I ran downstairs and saw the flames and realised there was nothing we could do.
“I grabbed my dog, as he was the first thing I thought to get, and we quickly went outside and called the fire brigade.”
Two crews rushed to the scene and spent more than half-anhour tackling the flames.
Ms Carr says she was left feeling numb as she watched the fire take hold of the house she has called home for 30 years.
“I just went blank when we were outside,” she said.
“I was in my pyjamas and my next-door neighbour was there and she gave me a dressing gown. “I couldn’t think – I felt numb.” Ms Carr stayed the night with her daughter before returning the following day.
“When I came back I couldn’t believe the damage,” she said.
“I have no electrics – they’ve all blown. The fire service told me not to turn anything on in the house. I don’t know what I’m going to do – I’m so shocked.
“The council said they will give me sheltered housing and I’m waiting for them to come round.”
Kent Fire and Rescue spokesman Anthony Masters dismissed claims a faulty toaster had sparked the blaze.
He said: “The burn pattern wasn’t consistent with the position of the toaster.”