A WOMAN has shared her experience following a devastating fire that broke out earlier this week.
At around 7.51pm on Wednesday, December 3, fire crews from both Devon and Somerset and Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue responded to a large fire which broke out at block of flats on Marigold Road in Frome.
Due to the scale of the fire, which resulted in a partial roof collapse, fire crews evacuated the area and residents, including Chloe Raeburn, were moved into temporary accommodation.
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It has been confirmed by the fire service that the building has suffered severe fire, water and smoke damage.
The fire was fully extinguished by around 2.26am on Thursday, December 4.
Chloe, 25, a photographer, said the last thing she expected was to see her home of five years “go up in flames” and shared that the incident has affected her mental health.
Chloe said: “Watching your place go up in flames is not something you see every day. That’s my home, I have known for the last five/six years of my life. To me, that is a long time to live somewhere on my own, so for this to happen, it puts me back to square one again in terms of rebuilding my life. I don’t know quite what to do going forward.
“I just want to go back to my bed and my home comforts, being away from home for so long, no one wants that.”
Chloe said that on the night of the fire in question, she was thankfully visiting a neighbour when the fire started.
She said: “Thankfully, I was with my neighbour, and I wasn’t in my room because I felt I would have been trapped with how quickly the fire spread on my floor.
“We were standing there for hours [during the fire], wondering what was going to happen. We were essentially homeless at that point and still are.
“I am still taking it in now. I haven’t had time to process it. We are trying to figure it out on a worst-case scenario basis.”
She added: “I think part of my roof is gone because it just caved in last night with the fire. I don’t know how much smoke went up into my flat; there is a chance that it has serious smoke damage as well.”
Some residents have been told it could take up to six months before they can move back in.
Chloe has said that the event has had a profound impact on her mental and physical health, setting her “back to square one”.
She said: “I feel like the smoke has gotten in my lungs because I have been coughing a lot, and it's horrible – breathing in the smoke last night was horrible, and then I woke up this morning and thought, ‘Oh, I can taste smoke.’
“I am just trying to get as much support as I can for myself. I don’t do well in situations like this like at all; it has been a really traumatic experience, and my mental health has been really bad. I am trying to stay strong for the other residents.”
Yet despite this, Selwood Housing have been working tirelessly to help the residents, Chloe says.
In one update, on social media, Selwood Housing said: "[On] Wednesday 3 December, a fire broke out at one of our blocks of flats in Edmund Park, Frome. We are thankful that all residents were able to evacuate safely, but we understand this incident will have been distressing for those involved and residents nearby. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted.
"Our teams were on site alongside emergency services on the night of the fire and have returned to answer questions and offer support to any residents affected.
"Customers in nine flats have had to move out of their homes as a result of the fire. We supported these customers into temporary accommodation on the night and are continuing to work closely with them to provide the help they need and arrange suitable longer-term housing where required.
"Once we can gain access to the building, our teams will establish the extent of the damage and assess the building’s safety. Updates will be provided to the customers affected as soon as possible.
"We are doing everything we can to support our customers affected by this fire, and our priority is their safety and well-being during this challenging time. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with us."
Chloe added: “They have given us an emergency amount of money just so we can get through the next few days because we don’t have anything, we don’t have clothes, we don’t have toiletries, and that money will also go towards hotels.”
Chloe and others from the building are currently staying in temporary accommodation and they are being updated daily on the situation by the housing association.
Chloe said: “There has been some clarity in this, but there are still a lot of question marks, and I think those question marks are what is worrying people. It's just going to be a waiting game.
“I really don’t know. I have valuables in my flat, and I am really worried they have been ruined.”
She added: “We are a close-knit community, and I am really worried about everyone. They are like my family, and this has put a real spanner in the works.
“I feel sorry for my neighbours who may not have a home over Christmas.
“It's going to take us some time to get back on our feet.”
Chloe has also said that while she is desperate to go home, she also “doesn’t feel safe” doing so after what happened.
She said: “I don’t feel safe going back, even if they say it is okay, because there is all that damage, and where it happened is on my level. To go home, I have to go past that flat, and I am worried I won't be allowed into my flat because it is on the same floor as the fire.
“I was worried it was going to spread to my flat, and the windows were going to blow in there. I am so grateful the fire brigade did what they did at the scene. It’s not an easy job trying to put out a fire.
“It's horrific. It's just really scary. For three residents at least, it could be really bad for them; they might have to spend Christmas somewhere else.”
Considering her cameras are in her flat, Chloe has said she cannot work until she is let back into her building, and she has consequently had to cancel photoshoots booked in over the next week.
She said: “Cameras are my therapy, it's not just my job, it is something I love doing. I had to cancel a photoshoot I have tomorrow, that’s how upset this has made me. This whole situation has really messed things up for me.”
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