A Leopold mum has revealed how her family fled their burning home after her husband found it on fire as he “came to” from a medical episode.
Laura Robertson, her husband Luke and their two children Sebastian, 7, and Skyla, 2, were asleep in their Tidal St rental home, where they lived for four years, moments before it was engulfed by flames on Friday.
Ms Robertson said her husband had a medical condition which led to blackout episodes and his medication caused disruptive sleep patterns.
“When the fire happened, he was having one of those medical episodes,” she said.
“When he came to, the flames were already up the roof in the lounge room.
“He was quite lucky he came to when he did, it would have been a completely different story if he didn’t.”
The Robertson family from Leopold have to rebuild their life after a house fire last week. Picture: Supplied
Ms Robertson’s husband then woke her up and their two children so they could evacuate the home.
“The fire was pretty intense by the time I had gotten up,” she said.
The fire spread through the roof of the property and the flames caused damage to a majority of the home including the lounge and dining area, kitchen and Sebastian’s bedroom.
Ms Robertson said only the garage and the main bedroom were left intact however everything else, including furniture and her children’s toys, had been damaged by fire or smoke or saturated by water.
She said fire officers were continuing to investigate the cause of the fire however a number of factors had been ruled out.
“There is no at fault issues, it wasn’t the TV, it wasn’t an electrical overload … it wasn’t caused by a heater or candle,” Ms Robertson said.
The Robertson family lost everything in a house fire last Friday.
The family is temporarily living in Whittington in accommodation paid for by their insurance company and will be looking to find a new rental in Leopold.
“When we moved to Leopold we really became part of the community, we definitely want to go back there … so Sebastian can stay at school with all his friends,” she said.
A crowd-funding page has been set up to support the family by Ms Robertson’s sister-in-law, Chloe.
The page has already received more than $5000 and locals have offered to donate clothes and toys to the family.
“It’s overwhelming but there has been such a massive outpouring of donations and support from the community,” Ms Robertson said.
To support the Robertson family, visit www.gofundme.comyoung-family-rebuild-life-after-housefire.
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