THE family of a disabled pensioner whose flat burned down with all his belongings inside have praised the ‘breathtaking’ support of the community who have rallied behind him since the harrowing ordeal.
Jack Wroe, 88, from Goldthorpe, was cooking food in his flat on Cherry Tree Court last Wednesday when a fire broke out destroying the entire contents of his home and leaving him with nothing but the clothes on his back.
Jack, who is in an electric wheelchair, tried to extinguish the fire himself but to no avail.
He managed to escape the blaze when a neighbour saw the flames.
His granddaughter, Charlotte Williams, told the Chronicle: “Last Wednesday afternoon he unfortunately had an accident while he was cooking.
“We don’t know exactly how the fire has started but he was using a chip pan.
“The automatic response is to just put the extractor fan on when it’s smoking isn’t it?
“But what’s happened is that it’s managed to caught fire and the fan has pulled all the oxygen out and caused a blazing fire within minutes.
“He’s in an electric wheelchair so he’s tried to put the fire himself out but that meant he was unable to see to leave his flat because the smoke got so bad.
“Somebody was coming in to get him out and they rang the fire brigade.
“By the time they’d got there, the smoke had basically ruined everything throughout because it’s a single-floor flat.”
Thankfully Jack is safe and currently receiving respite care at a local care home.
Charlotte says the most important thing is that her grandad managed to escape the blaze safely but all of his belongings including memories of his wife who died a few years ago have been ruined.
She added: “He’s absolutely fine and so is everybody else in the accommodation.
“We’re all just so relieved and pleased that he’s fit and well and there’s no injuries whatsoever.
“He’s lost quite a lot of memories from the living room area.
“We’re trying to liaise with the fire team to see what can be recovered from the bedroom, because obviously that was the room that was the furthest away.
“Everything that can absorb the smoke and the contamination has been ruined. There are some hard goods that we are able to clean.
“He lost his wife about three or four years ago and there were pictures and things from her that have gone.
“He really struggled with his mobility so it’s really hard for him to transfer from his chair to his sofa.
“All his sofa and things like that have been made just for him to suit his needs.
“There’s just so much damage to everything.”
Local community officer Darryl Hand has been supporting the family since the blaze asking for size clothes as all of Jack’s have been ruined while Charlotte has set up a fundraiser.
Charlotte said: “There’s been so much support. I think the Dearne area have just pulled together and it’s absolutely blown us all away.
“Everything that Darryl has done as well he came to find us has been amazing. It’s breathtaking to be honest.”
