Family of six forced from their home by devastating tumble dryer fire - GoFundMe appeal launched

One minute Samantha Spruce was celebrating her daughter’s ninth birthday at home with her family - the next a fire was tearing through their kitchen and she was rushing her four young children to safety.

Reece and Samantha Spruce and their children, all under the age of 12, have been left looking to find a new place to live after the fire at their home in Penkridge on Tuesday (September 1), which started when their tumble dryer caught fire.

Mr Spruce said his wife and children had been at home celebrating his daughter Pippa’s ninth birthday when the fire took hold and while they had all been able to escape unharmed, the fire has left its mark on the house and the family.

Now the family is split between three homes, staying with loved ones and waiting to rebuild their lives. They may not be able to return for months.

Self-employed carpenter Mr Spruce told the Express & Star: “The utility room and the kitchen have gone as they are all burnt out and while it was contained towards the back of the house, the whole house is full of soot and all the beds and the kids’ toys smell of smoke.

“The family are OK, but my missus has cried a lot about it and I’m trying my hardest to just keep going.

“I’ve been working very hard as I’m self-employed and it’s the only income we’ve got coming in, so I’ve tried to stay normal, but it’s really hard and we still can’t believe what has happened.”

Mr Spruce said they still hadn’t been able to go to the house due to the memories of the day, and had begun the process of going through claiming insurance but were looking to replace some items more quickly.

One thing which has helped is a GoFundMe page, which was set up by Mrs Spruce’s sister and which has already raised more than £3,000 for the family, something Mr Spruce said was very humbling.

He said: “When my sister-in-law suggested it, I wasn’t sure as we’ve always been a family who want to get on with our lives and don’t look for handouts and try to do things ourselves, so I was a little bit reluctant.

“However, my wife was saying how we need beds and other stuff, including clothing for the children as they’re going back to school, so we decided to go with it.

“I’ve had that many messages from people, including people I haven’t spoken to in 10 years, checking up on us and it’s been lovely to have that response from people.”

Learn more and donate to the fundraiser at gofundme.com/f/please-help-my-sisters-family-rebuild-after-house-fire.