Grand Designs eco-home is destroyed in blaze
THE family who built a landmark ecohome which burnt to the ground on New Year’s Day have said they are still “in shock”.
Simon and Jasmine Dale, whose house featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs last year, spent six years building their dream home in Pembrokeshire before it was destroyed by a fire on Monday.
The couple’s home, in Lammas ecovillage, near Crymych, cost just £27,000 to build.
Ms Dale said: “We’re still in complete shock. We know the feeling. Our first home burnt down so we have been here before, I suppose. We’re trying to hope that this will be a blessing in disguise and we have received so much love, but we know we won’t be able to recreate this home.”
Ms Dale added: “The fire was caused by a freak electrical fault … The fire service said due to the size of the fire we’ll never know exactly what happened. I returned to the house and the whole thing was just full of black smoke, there was nothing I could do.
“I watched the fire service knock down what was left.”
Since the incident, the couple have been staying in a holiday rental property with their two children.
They had just £500 in savings when they started the house and have built along the way. As the house was still under construction they had no house insurance. “We don’t think we will be able to rebuild the house, it would cost £500,000 to do instantly and that just isn’t possible”, said Ms Dale.
Since the tragedy, family and friends have rallied round the couple to set up a Justgiving page to help them rebuild their special home.
So far the page has raised almost
£13,000.
The house was built entirely of reclaimed materials, including glass and timber, and insulated with sheep’s wool. But it was also constructed using straw, which meant the fire was able to destroy the entire house.