Devastating fire left family with only gerbils
BBCWhen Paul Stephens looks back at the day a fire destroyed his home, he remembers the speed at which everything changed.
He was in his garden sunbathing when flames started spreading towards his house on Gorleston Road in Warstock, Birmingham, on 13 August.
"I was sunbathing in the garden… I could see the smoke… it was about 30‑odd houses away and it just took over. We were hearing people shout, 'Wet your fences, wet your fences'… but there was nothing you could do," Stephens said.
What had started near a park, where overgrown grass and scrubland enabled the fire spread, had quickly travelled through 35 gardens.
"We've lived there for 30 years… and just everything's gone."
In the space of a few hours, the family had lost almost everything they owned.
Among the things destroyed were wedding memorabilia, electronics, clothes and the everyday belongings that had made the house a home.
"It was the kids' childhood home growing up, and everything's gone."
Paul lived there with five other family members, including two children aged seven and nine.
For them, the fire was not simply the loss of a building, but the loss of the place where their family life happened.
When the family returned to see what remained, there was an unexpected small piece of good news - Snowy and Fluffy, the family's two gerbils, had survived.
The pair had been in their enclosure in the downstairs living room as the fire tore through the property.
"The [kids] have one gerbil each, and they survived.
"When we went back the next day, we thought the firemen were bringing out two dead gerbils but they weren't, they were alive."
The family has been staying in temporary Airbnb accommodation while they try to work out what comes next.
Finding somewhere suitable has not been straightforward. Paul has severe neuropathy and needs accommodation that meets his accessibility needs, while also being suitable for a family of six.
"We're being passed from Airbnb to Airbnb at the moment because every house that we go for is not suitable, or for some other reason we can't get it.
"We just need a bit of luck [but we] don't seem to be having any at the moment."
In the meantime, people in the community have stepped in to help.
Clothes have been donated for the family, while the children have received tablets.
"The people in the community… they [have gone] above and beyond. They went and bought them new clothes and tablets and all, because all their computers and stuff and everything was all in there."
Paul and his family are now hoping to find a permanent home to begin rebuilding their life.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
