A SLEEPING woman who was woken by her neighbour telling her that her house was on fire was left “standing barefoot in the snow” while watching her home go up in flames.
Tricia Hayes was alerted to the blaze on the morning of November 23 after her neighbour banged on the door at her property on Tranent’s Windygoul Crescent.
Fortunately, the mum of two was able to get out of her home and to safety, but her home suffered substantial damage – and in a further blow, it has transpired that she had no home insurance at the time.
Daughter Stacey, who lives in Edinburgh, told the Courier that it was thought the fire had started in the kitchen, with much of the damage at one side of the property.
She said: “Thank goodness for the neighbour who saw the flames and called 999 while running over to get her out of the house, or this could have been a much sadder story.
“Thankfully, most of her possessions were saved and my mother is OK (if rather still in shock).
“I will forever be grateful for the neighbour who most likely saved her life and all the others who looked after her in those first few hours while the firemen were working to put the flames out, and came to help moving rubble and getting her favourite furniture and belongings out to storage in safer spaces.
“Sadly, the house itself is largely destroyed.
“The kitchen is a burnt-out husk and the winds quickly blew the fire upwards, destroying most of the roof and the upper bedrooms.”
Tricia, 64, had lived in the home for about a year and was happy in the area.
Stacey, who thought the blaze had been caused by an electrical fault, highlighted that her mum did not have home insurance.
She said: “She thought she was insured and spent half a day looking for insurance.
“She has always had insurance for everything, life insurance, house insurance, and when she moved house she had gone online and clicked on different links.
“She had found a deal, gone through it and not clicked the final button.
“She is used to going and speaking to people on the phone and struggles with it being online.”
Now, the family have launched an online fundraising page in a bid to raise the tens of thousands of pounds that could be needed to repair the property.
READ MORE: Five engines called to tackle blaze at Tranent property
Stacey, 42, said: “My mum found herself very lonely in Livingston being far away from her new friends and she suffered from some depression at the loss of her eldest child.
“She moved to Tranent in November 2023, her third house move in four years and the first place she has finally felt comfortable and settled and part of a loving community.
“She loved that little house and said she felt happy there every day, looking out over her garden, knowing she had friends nearby.
“We'd just spent £10,000 getting it fixed up so she could have lodgers and thus have an income to serve as her pension.
“It breaks my heart to think of all the care and effort she had put in to making the place nice, only to watch it all burn down right in front of her.
“My sweet mummy is one of the nicest people you could ever meet, she really cares about people and is always rushing around helping friends in need, giving her time, energy and emotional support (even financial support) whenever she sees someone struggling.”
To support Tricia, go to crowdfunder.co.uk/p/please-help-20
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