On the morning of March 16, Lena and her son, Charlie, decided to go out for the day, however, whilst out, life took a sudden detour and shook up the reality of a normal life for the mother and young son. The faulty aircon system above the fridge in the kitchen caught alight, vastly spreading to the room and through the rear of their Andergrove home.
The laundry, along with the kitchen and all of the contents within the area was destroyed in minutes. The rest of the home was majorly affected by smoke and water damage and in addition, the house was contaminated with toxins from the burnt chemicals.
First responders extinguished the flames before the fire spread to the neighbouring properties, however, unfortunately, Lena’s rental property was deemed unfit to inhabit.
Despite this, Lena said she is grateful to her quick-thinking neighbours who rescued the family cat.
“I'm incredibly grateful to my neighbours who all chipped in to act quickly and ensure my cat got out safely,” she said.
Losing all furniture items from laundry through to the kitchen appliances, her entire wardrobe, clothing and bedding, Lena said everything was either burnt or damaged by smoke and water.
She said it was a small miracle that a majority of her sons’ toys were low to the ground and remained relatively undamaged, able to be saved with “some elbow grease and helping hands.”
The rest of the family’s basic living needs, however, had completely disappeared and Lena was left with nothing.
Deciding to take to social media, she posted on a community Facebook page, asking for help.
“As much as I hate to ask for a handout, I know my son and I will need a hand-up, especially in this rental and cost of living crisis,” she said in the post.
“Thanks to the kindness of our community, we have been given a fridge, clothes, toys and a single mattress for my son.
“We have no kitchen appliances or dinnerware, glasses or cutlery, we need linen, size queen and king single and kids’ books.
“We need everything a home needs, really.”
“The thing that has upset me the most has been losing my sons two mellowmats, as they were not cheap and he learnt to crawl and walk on them,” she added.
Relying on others and reaching out for community help doesn't come easily, however, a magnitude of wonderful locals quickly jumped on board to lend a helping hand, offering furniture, household items and immense support to Lena and her son Charlie in this challenging time.
If you have any donations that could help, you can kindly drop off items at White Picket Realestate, Shop 4, 28 George Street Mackay.
“A big thank you to all the people who donated items, gift cards and offered kind words, you all changed the trajectory of mine and my little boys life after a devastating event.
“A Special thank you to local businesses: Jeremiah Bullfrog, Woolworths Andergrove, White picket realestate and Cool Mango who donated either their time, gift cards or items to help us rebuild and start over,” Lena said.
Lena with her son Charlie lose everything in Andegrove house fire, but community rallies behind them to help rebuild their lives.
Image Supplied
