We are still living with devastation after fire 'like apocalyptic film'

One month after a fire tore through an estate, those affected say they are still living with the resulting devastation.

Four homes were destroyed after a disposable barbecue sparked the Sandyford blaze on 13 August in Stoke-on-Trent, with many other properties also damaged.

"You look through the cracked, broken bedroom window and you just see something out of an apocalyptic film," said Carl Woodroffe, who lives on Maureen Avenue.

The grandfather's back garden was destroyed in the fire, which also melted its guttering, broke windows and caused smoke damage at the back of his home.

He told BBC Radio Stoke he reckoned £12,000 worth of items were lost in the garden and he was "in limbo" while the insurance company assessed his claim.

"Hopefully they know that time is of the essence and I need things moving on to get back to a bit of normality," he said.

"I am the lucky one, with myself and the adjoining neighbours, it's all external – windows, gutters."

Woodroffe said things were moving slowly, in terms of the repairs: the burnt waste from the garden had been removed but there was a lot of admin needed before the rest of the work could begin.

As well as fixing the guttering and back windows, he said the carpets also needed deep cleaning and a plumber would need to fix the boiler, which was also damaged.

Asked how much it affected him, he said: "It's always there. My granddaughter was round yesterday and was looking, she's only three [years old], and she was saying 'what's that?'.

"I just said 'there's been an accident, there's been a fire'. It's not nice for her to see that but it is what it is."

People could count themselves lucky though, as nobody had lost their lives, Woodroffe added.

One firefighter who spent a fortnight in hospital after battling the blaze recently returned home.

He was one of six crew members who needed treatment after breathing in smoke as well as suffering from heat exhaustion.

The other five were discharged from hospital shortly after the blaze.

The fire began in Sandyford Park before spreading to Sandy Road and Maureen Avenue, with dozens of homes evacuated.

Katie Johnson and her family had to stay in a hotel after their home was damaged and coming back was stressful, she admitted.

"We're just glad to be home and the kids can have some kind of normality because now they're back at school," she added.

"The clean-up was hard, you can still smell it now but it's not as bad as it was."

The family were still waiting for replacement window panes, Johnson said, after the outside of their double glazing was blown out.

"I'm hoping the windows will be done before the cold weather comes in because not only will it be cold, you've got the risk of the inside windows blowing as well."

Although the fire service concluded the blaze was accidentally started by a disposable barbecue, two people arrested earlier on suspicion of arson remained on bail while police investigations continued.

The city council said they were working closely with people in Sandyford, including by providing financial and wellbeing support, and operating a 24/7 helpline for those affected.

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