Fundraisers started to help families affected by Bishopstone house fires

One house was completely ruined by the blaze

Author: Jack DeeryPublished 2nd Jun 2021
Last updated 2nd Jun 2021

Fundraising pages have been set up by neighbours after a double house fire in Bishopstone yesterday (Tuesday 1st June).

One home in Stanley Close was completely gutted by the blaze, while another was severely affected as it spread through the loft.

Their roof collapsed and there was water and smoke damage on the ground floor.

A family of four, including two children, lost everything and the community are now rallying around them to try help them rebuild their lives a little easier.

A GoFundMe page with over £1,700 in donations has been set up to support them, while another is looking for money to help their neighbours affected as well.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service told us that the cause of the fire is unknown but investigations are ongoing.

A spokesperson said:

"We were called to Stanley Close, Bishopstone at 12.46pm yesterday for a fire involving a pair of semi-detached properties. We had crews in attendance from Salisbury, Poole (who were in local area), Tisbury, Fordingbridge and Shaftesbury, together with an aerial ladder platform and supporting appliance from St Mary's in Southampton, and an incident command unit from Devizes at the height of the incident, but this was later scaled back to Salisbury, Tisbury, Shaftesbury and St Mary's. The stop came at 8.41pm, after crews had made the buildings safe following advice from Wiltshire Council building control.

One of the two properties has been destroyed by fire, the other has water and smoke damage. The occupants are all safe, and volunteers from the the British Red Cross emergency response team assisted both households. We are grateful to the parish council for enacting their emergency plan, as this helped with traffic management and a rest area, and to the White Hart pub for providing crews with refreshments."

The White Hart pub, which is just on the corner of the close, have posted on Facebook saying they can be a drop off point for things like clothes and bedding etc.

Anyone able to help is being asked to contact the pub.

You can help the two families affected here:

www.gofundme.com/housefire1

www.gofundme.com/housefire2****

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