Family escapes blaze

By Kelly Yates
A COUPLE and their teenage son escaped uninjured from a house fire in Endeavour Hills last weekend.
Firefighters battled the blaze at the two-storey Ramsay Court house for more than two hours after receiving a call from a neighbour at about 1.42am on Sunday.
Kerry Phillips from the Hallam Fire Brigade said the family lost everything in the blaze.
“It’s really sad because the only things they had were the clothes on their backs,” he said.
The house was completely destroyed, according to firefighters.
Johanna Nicholls told the News her 13-year-old son Tom and husband Craig were both asleep when she discovered the fire.
“I was getting ready for bed when the lights went out,” she said.
“I could smell smoke and saw a light beam from the door under the stairs. Then I realised the smell was coming from there.”
Mrs Nicholls said she ran upstairs to wake her husband, screaming that their house was on fire.
“I dragged Tom out of bed, raced out of the house and by that stage the flames were everywhere,” she said.
Fire crews set up a number of trucks around the perimeter of the property to protect neighbouring houses which were threatened by the fire.
“The three residents at home at the time were able to get out of the house but unfortunately the house that was alight is a total loss,” Mr Phillips said.
Mr Phillips said the fire was not suspicious, believing it may be accidental.
“At this stage it looks like the fire started under the stairwell in the storage room,” he said.
Mrs Nicholls said she was thankful no-one was injured.
“It all happened so quickly and if I were asleep at the time I think the situation would have been a lot worse,” she said.
The Nicholls family will now start to re-build their lives after losing everything in the blaze.
“I felt totally numb for a while and was in complete disbelief,” she said.
“When we look at the ruins we see the life we built there. We are looking forward to getting back to Endeavour Hills.”
The family is thankful for the many donations including cash they have received from family, friends and neighbours.