Family loses everything including beloved dog in devastating house …

A family lost everything including their beloved Yorkshire Terrier when a fire ripped through their home. The blaze broke out during the early hours of Sunday at Lorna Williams’ home in Nant-y-Berllan in Llanfairfechan, Conwy ^[1]. Lorna and her youngest daughter were away when the fire took hold but her eldest daughter was asleep in her room upstairs. Luckily she managed to escape the blaze unscathed along with most of the family pets – their two cats, one of their dogs and rabbit. But tragically their Yorkshire terrier Codi died in the fire.

Lorna and her youngest daughter are currently “sofa surfing” for the time being, while her eldest daughter is staying at her boyfriend’s house. All their possessions are lost, barring a few family photographs that the fire service were able to recover at the time.

As it stands, they are unsure whether they will ever be able to return to the house. The damage is significant and the fire has torn through the ground floor up to the floor above. If the house is not beyond repair, it will be a long time before Lorna and her daughters can move back in.

Lorna Williams lived in the house with her two children for ten years (Image: Lorna Williams)

In the meantime, their neighbours and friends in Llanfairfechan have been “amazing”, Lorna says, helping them out with clothes and setting up a fundraiser.^[4] They are still waiting on an update from the fire service and on the insurance as Lorna says “it’s still early days” for them at this stage.

Codi ran back into the house and sadly died in the fire, Lorna said (Image: Lorna Williams)

The mum-of-two added: “My mum died in April and the dog, Codi, was the last thing I had left of her. My daughter was the only one in the house and was asleep when the fire broke out. She still managed to get the him and the other pets out of the house but he freaked out and went back inside sadly – losing him is the biggest thing for me.

The house is currently boarded up (Image: Lorna Williams)

“It’s still early days so we don’t know the cause yet. We’re not sure what the full extent of the damage is or if we’ll ever be able to move back – I don’t know if it’s structurally sound enough for us to go back in to get some of our belongings at the moment. A fireman managed to grab a few family photos when they were there but that’s all we have left from the house.

The fire spread through the ground floor and tore through the ceiling, Lorna said (Image: Lorna Williams)

“We’re just sofa surfing at the moment, my eldest daughter is with her boyfriend. We’re all alive, it’s just a house at the end of the day – it’s just belongings really. It is what it is, everything can be rebuilt and bought, it’s just rubbish that we don’t have anywhere to live – all I want to do is climb into my own bed, I’m absolutely exhausted.

“The whole town has been amazing, they’ve given us clothes, offered us places to stay and there’s the fundraiser as well. I’m used to looking after other people and I can’t look after anyone at the moment which is hard to get to grips with but I’m so grateful to everyone for their help.”

A spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 00:56hrs on Sunday 1st October to a house fire at Nant Y Berllan, Llanfairfechan. Crews from used two hose reel jets and four sets of breathing apparatus to tackle the fire.

“The fire caused 100% fire damage to the kitchen and 100% smoke damage to the whole house. The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.”

A fundraiser has been set up for Lorna and her family which you can visit here ^[5].

References

^{^} Conwy (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Restaurant in North Wales town closes just months after comeback reopening (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Nightmare spot by Anglesey beach for anyone with fear of snakes – but don’t be afraid (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} fundraiser. (www.gofundme.com)
^{^} here (www.gofundme.com)
^{^} Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter (www.dailypost.co.uk)