The Buckler family-of-six are now staying with relatives after their home was completely obliterated in under ten minutes
A young girl had to jump from the roof of her family home to escape a fire that started when the battery in an electric scooter exploded in the hallway.
Matthew Buckler, his wife and their four children were woken up in the early hours of Friday morning (Jan 9) to the blaze – which completely devastated their home in just eight minutes and saw all four children taken to hospital to be checked.
The end-of-terrace property in Dinas Powys, South Wales has been “written off”, with every single room in the house ruined and part of the roof caved in.
Pictures from the scene of the accident show the scale of the damage caused to the house – with the front door boarded up and windows covered in thick soot.
Matthew explained how the family-of-six managed to escape the inferno.
He said: “We woke up at about midnight, the electric scooter had exploded in the hallway and within eight minutes the house was ablaze. Some of us got out, the others had to go through the window. My daughter has done the ligaments in her ankle from when she jumped off the roof.”
He added: “The house is written off, every single room gone. Including the roof which caved in.”
The family, who had lived in the house for eight years, spent several hours being checked over at a nearby hospital before being discharged.
They are now staying with family and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family start to rebuild.
Aiming to raise £3,500, family member Chelsea Ann Buckler wrote: “My family has experienced a devastating loss after a house fire destroyed their home and all their belongings. This tragedy has left us all in shock and struggling to find our footing.
“I am reaching out to ask for your support during this incredibly difficult time. Any contribution, no matter how small, can help us rebuild our lives.”
A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received a call at approximately 12.09am on Friday, January 9, to reports of a domestic fire at Caerphilly Close in Dinas Powys.
“Crews and appliances from Penarth, Cardiff Central and Barry attended the scene of a well alight fire in an end-of-terrace property.
“All occupants were evacuated prior to the arrival of crews. The fire was extinguished using four breathing apparatus, two 45mm jets, and a triple extension ladder. The fire was accidental, caused by a lithium-ion battery.
The spokesperson added that crews were at the scene for around four hours, leaving the area shortly after 4am on Friday.
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