Family of six loses the lot

By Callan Date
AN ENDEAVOUR Hills family lost almost everything they own last week when their uninsured house was destroyed by fire.
Niki Richardson and her five children watched from the nature strip as their Matthew Flinders Avenue house was engulfed by flames about 3.30am last Thursday.
Only minutes earlier the family evacuated the property after the smell of smoke and a fire alarm alerted them to the danger.
As the family sifted through the charred rubble and began the clean-up days later, they vowed to rebuild the house they have called home for the past 28 years.
“You just do what you got to do,” a devastated Ms Richardson said.
“I don’t think I have stopped crying since it happened.”
Wedding and school photos were among the many precious items destroyed along with almost a life-time of house contents, Ms Richardson said.
The family of six is now sharing a three-bedroom Endeavour Hills house with a relative until they find permanent accommodation while they rebuild.
A prepared fire plan, the family hoped they would never have to use, helped make sure everyone knew what to do and where to meet outside the house.
Ms Richardson said the whole family had escaped serious injury and only required medical treatment for some minor burns and smoke inhalation.
However, her two sons, Hayden, 10, and DJ, 8, have suffered nightmares since the fire and required counselling.
“My two little boys are finding it very hard to cope,” she said.
“Their whole life and daily routine has been thrown upside down.”
Fortunately, the family pets – two dogs and a cat – survived the blaze, helping to somewhat lift the broken spirits of the children.
The financial impact of the fire is also just starting to sink in for Ms Richardson.
“The only clothing they have is what was on their backs,” she said.
Ms Richardson said family members had pulled together in desperate times and her former husband was helping with the clean-up along with some of her children’s friends.
“A couple of people we know have offered to donate their labour when we re-build. We just need basic building materials,” she said.
“For a starter, we need some roofing timber to get some tarps up and get some cover.”
However, with Ms Richardson struggling to pay for essential items for the family, it will be a long process.
“We just want our home back and any help we can get along the way would make it easier for all of us,” she said.