Homeless family stuck in limbo a month after Felmores blaze (From Basildon Recorder)

Homeless family stuck in limbo a month after Felmores blaze

2:30pm Thursday 17th December 2009

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A HOMELESS family told how they were still stuck in limbo, a month after a huge blaze ripped through part of Pitsea’s Felmores estate.

Peter Holland said his family has not been able to collect essential belongings, including clothes, furniture and school work, following the fire in Bockingham Green, on November 13. It caused 90 homes to be evacuated and left ten of those inhabitable.

Following the blaze, Mr Holland, 48, his wife Dee, 58, and two children Hayley, 17 and Ben, 15, were moved to a hotel for a week before being given a temporary home in Kenilworth Place, Noak Bridge.

But Mr Holland said the continued lack of access to his old home has left his family frustrated.

Mr Holland, a St Georges Community Housing tenant, said: “Our lives are on hold without our stuff.

“We had to borrow clothes from people because most of ours are at our house.

“We feel we have been messed around by the council ever since the fire started.”

Following the blaze, Mr Holland was told many of his belongings had not suffered any smoke or water damage.

Yet since then, the roof tiles have been removed from his property and Mr Holland fears rain will have got in and damaged his remaining possessions.

He said: “No one will take any responsibility for any of our stuff.”

Mrs Holland added: “It’s not just clothes and furniture, there’s lots of important photographs there that will just get ruined.”

Simon Baylis, a spokesman for St Georges, said: “Mr Holland and his family have been allowed limited access to their property to allow them to gather any belongings they need at that time.

“Unfortunately, because there are still ongoing health and safety checks, we cannot allow further access until they are completed.

“The safety of our residents is paramount, but we are hoping to have further information from Swan Housing towards the end of this week.”

Swan Housing manages some of the affected properties together with St Georges.

Mr Baylis added St Georges had not authorised any removals of roof tiles, but properties were being regularly inspected to make sure they were watertight.

Kelly Taylor, a Basildon Council spokeswoman, said: “The council will be looking sympathetically at residents’ requests to be rehoused elsewhere, as it is not yet clear the properties will be reinstated in the near future.”

Plan to stop future fires

AN action plan has been announced in the wake of the Felmores estate blaze.

Basildon Council and St Georges Community Housing announced their bid to help stop future fires breaking out on the estate.

The plans, revealed at a Pitsea community meeting earlier this month, include installing fire detectors in communal areas of homes, a new lighting system and replacing fire doors.

It was the latest in a series of measures taken since the fire, as council officers were dispatched to the scene around 30 minutes after the blaze started.

However, some residents, including 55-year-old Barry Maicher, have criticised the council’s actions following the fire.

Mr Maicher, who narrowly escaped with his life and lost his home in the fire, is suing the council because he claims it didn’t act quickly enough to remove a dumped sofa, found to be the cause of the fire.

Basildon Council maintain the sofa was never reported to them.

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