Mum praises ‘community spirit’ after fire

A MUM of three has praised the support of her neighbours after being affected by two fires in just five months.

Panicked Amy Mercer was woken by the smell of smoke in her home at Court Road in Grangetown.

A fire had broken out next door and she and her three daughters had to escape from the property.

“It was 6am in the morning and I woke up because I could smell something like burning tar,” said 33-year-old Ms Mercer.

“Because I was still half asleep, I assumed they were covering the road or they were working on a nearby house that had scaffolding.

“The smell was getting stronger and stronger so I went down stairs to where my eldest sleeps and when I came back up my room was full of smoke.

“I screamed and ran and got the girls up. By the time I had done that the smoke had spread into the landing.

“As we were leaving, the man from the shop across the road started banging on the door.

“My door unlocks with key from the inside so I had to find it in the living room and we got out. As we left our fire alarms started going off.

“It was only later when I was talking to a friend, she pointed out that it was all black around my nose where I had been breathing the smoke in.”

The local community have rallied around with neighbours looking after the three children and even sharing their Easter eggs.

The resulting fire left significant smoke damage in the bedroom and attic of her home.

“I can’t go in the bedroom because the smell of smoke in there makes me heave.”

“The attic has been checked and it is structurally sound but everything up there will be smoke damaged. The girls’ old clothes and Christmas decorations they made are all up there.

“There is the financial cost but also my memories.”

Ms Mercer says her three children have all been affected by the fire.

Summer, six, doesn’t want to leave her mum’s side.

Ms Mercer said: “She has not left my side. Normally she is really outgoing but doesn’t want to leave me. I took her to a ball pit but she stayed with me drawing pictures.”

The family were affected by fire over Christmas when there was another fire at a neighbour’s house on Boxing Day.

Throughout this ordeal Ms Mercer has had the support of the community.

She said: “The neighbours have been amazing to this day.

“You think that there is no such thing as community spirit but they have been great.

“One of them even brought round a bottle of Bacardi.

“The have offered to help us do washing and the neighbours that took the girls in gave them Easter eggs to put a smile on their face.”