Volunteers Rally To Help East Sussex Family After House Fire

Volunteers are helping to renovate a home so a family whose cottage was destroyed by fire can have somewhere permanent to live by Christmas.

Olly Room returned to his home in Nutley with his sons in November to find the property engulfed in flames, with ten fire engines at the scene tackling the blaze.

Mr Room managed to run into the burning house and rescue two of the family’s four pets.

Tragically, their cat Piglet and puppy Zeffie did not survive. The two surviving dogs, Dolly and Tilly, are now recovering.

His wife and daughter were safely staying with neighbours at the time of the fire.

An online fundraiser set up by family friend Ami Nielsen has raised more than £19,000 to help the family rebuild their lives.

She said the family lost almost everything in the blaze and were left facing uncertainty over where they would live, while also dealing with the loss of their pets.

Mr Room said the family has contents insurance and received an interim payment while their claim is processed, but added that the support from friends, neighbours and volunteers has been overwhelming.

He thanked everyone who has helped the family since the fire, saying the kindness shown has made an incredibly difficult time more manageable.