A family of four, who have been left homeless after a fire destroyed their home in Rainham, are calling on Havering Council for more help.
In the early hours of January 30, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called to a fire in Bulmer Walk, which engulfed the entire roof of a terraced house.
Stacey Mimms, 42 and Jon Mimms 46, lived at the home with their daughter Gemma, nine, and Stacey’s son Josh, 17.
Since the fire the family, who have rented privately for around 14 years, have been placed in a hostel by Havering Council, where they share one room, a small bathroom and kitchen.
Stacey, who works night shifts as a healthcare assistant, said: “I’m not able to sleep, I can’t eat properly and my family are all very stressed out.
“We’ve lost everything.
"All of the babies' memorabilia and a lot of irreplaceable stuff - it’s all gone.”
At the time of the fire Stacey was in the house with the two kids and their Labrador dog called Honey.
She recalls her first thought was to “get the family out”.
But following the incident she said “I’m still very impacted by this and even the slightest alarm triggers me."
Jon, who is a trained carpenter, had been in Wolverhampton for work at the time of the fire and called the situation “stressful”, explaining that Bulmer Walk was the only place the family had felt “really comfortable”.
He added: “This isn’t an easy situation to deal with and although we can deal with it better than the younger ones it’s still hard.”
In the fire Josh lost all his A-Level work and the laptop he got for Christmas, while Gemma lost all her new toys.
The family are now hoping the council will help them secure a permanent home.
A spokesperson for Havering Council said: “This is a dreadful situation for anyone to have to go through and our sympathies go out to the whole family.
“The council is providing emergency accommodation until they can find a new home. In the meantime, we remain in regular contact with the family to support them as much as we can.”
Jon’s daughter, Jamie Mimms, 21, said the fire has been “devastating for the whole family” and she has set up a GoFundMe page - https://www.gofundme.com/f/g6ek9s-house-fire - to help them afford essentials.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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