An Ocean Grove family were about to sit down for dinner when their home was destroyed in a fiery blaze.
Maddie Glover had just finished cooking dinner for her family on June 3 when the smoke alarms, installed in their Cerberus Dve home, started blaring.
“It was the first time in two weeks (I’d cooked dinner) because I just had major surgery,” Ms Glover said.
“My 15-year-old had his girlfriend over for the first time for dinner.
“My mum was also there (from Queensland) because she had been caring for me after surgery.
“It was a big family dinner.”
Thinking her cooking had set of the smoke alarms, Ms Glover tried to use a tea towel to stop them sounded.
“I thought it was my cooking,” Ms Glover said.
Her mother went to the back part of the house to do the same but saw a bedroom on fire.
Ms Glover then sprung into action.
An Ocean Grove house in Cerberus Drive was badly damaged by fire. Picture: Alan Barber
“I did my best mum scream ever and I told everyone to get out of the house,” she said.
“I remember standing at the bedroom door thinking ‘what do I do, do I need a bucket of water?’.”
Ms Glover and her partner, Laird Cormack, have six children between them.
All seven people inside the home, including three of Ms Glover’s children, evacuated safely.
“I was yelling out for someone to call triple-0 but none of us had our phones on us,” Ms Glover.
She ran back inside to retrieve her phone off the kitchen bench.
Mr Cormack used a hose from the backyard to try and extinguish the blaze while they waited for emergency crews to arrive.
Ms Glover said the fire started in her 13-year-old son’s bedroom.
An Ocean Grove house in Cerberus Drive was badly damaged by fire. Picture: Alan Barber
Fire investigators have not been able to determine an exact cause of the blaze but believe it may have been an electrical fault.
Ms Glover said it has been a “huge emotional roller coaster” and her children are “traumatised”.
“It doesn’t feel real … it’s really overwhelming.”
The family moved into the newly built home about two years ago but now it will likely be demolished.
“We hope to be able to rebuild and start again in Ocean Grove,” she said.
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A crowd-funding page was established to help the family. As of Monday it had already garnered almost $5000 in donations.
Locals are rallying behind the family by donating clothing and toiletries.
“It warms our hearts, we are extremely grateful for everyone’s support and kind words,” Ms Glover said.
To support the Glover-Cormack family, visit gofundme.com/the-glovercormack-family-fire-fund.