Boyn Hill fire: Mother says family ‘lost everything’ after house destroyed

A mother whose Boyn Hill home was destroyed in a fire has recounted the devastation which has thrown her family’s life in disarray.

Amy Cowper, 33, says she ‘lost everything’ during the inferno which took just ‘minutes’ to tear through her house in Longleat Gardens on Sunday.

The mother of three young children has been left with little more than clothes drying outside on a washing line; and the precious ashes of her late daughter, rescued from the debris.

In the aftermath, a fundraiser set up to support the family has raised more than £1,000.

“The more the time goes on, the more it’s sinking in and becoming my reality now,” Amy said.

“I’m just trying to process it as well as I can and still be strong for the kids.”

Fire alarms went off when the family sat down to eat lunch that afternoon.

Thinking they had been triggered by cooking, Amy turned off the downstairs alarm and went to turn off the upstairs alarm. There, she found a rapidly growing fire in her children’s bedroom.

Amy said: “I went in to see if I could stop it – silly – but it had taken hold of the beds, and I knew at that point there was nothing that I could do.”

She called for emergency services and fled outside with her children.

“Within 10 minutes or so the whole house was completely engulfed and we’ve essentially lost everything,” said Amy.

Firefighters arrived around 4.30pm. Crews from Maidenhead, Slough, and Windsor were called in to help – including one fire engine with an aerial platform.

They were on-site for hours battling the flames and ensuring the site was safe.

Firefighters at the scene in Longleat Gardens, Boyn Hill.

The aftermath left the ‘whole first floor and roof gone’ as well as severe water damage to the ground floor.

Almost all the family’s possessions were destroyed.

Amy’s late daughter died two years ago and the single-mum had kept mementos and keepsakes of her.

Some of these were lost in the fire, but firefighters were able to retrieve the container holding her ashes.

Amy said: “They went to so much trouble to retrieve as much of her personal effects as possible and that’s something I could never replace, so I'm beyond grateful for that.”

Due to difficult finances, Amy said she was unable to afford insurance to help recover the loss of other belongings.

“I wish I had done it now [buying insurance] but you just have to pick ‘what you do want?’

“’Do you want food, electric or house insurance?’

“And with children, it wasn’t really much of a choice in that sense,” she said.

Reflecting on how events unfolded, Amy said she had been suspicious of a ‘burning’ smell hours earlier and noticed plug sockets were hot to the touch.

The house is run by Onehousing housing association and she said she had reported problems with the electricity before.

A spokesperson for Riverside - Onehousing’s parent company – said it was ‘truly saddened’ by the losses the family endured and added it was ‘in the process of sourcing’ alternative housing for Amy and her family – who are now staying in temporary accommodation in High Wycombe.

They added: “Our customers’ safety remains a top priority which is why, in accordance with best practice in the sector, we arrange periodic safety inspections within their homes.

“An electrical safety certificate was carried out at the family’s home earlier this year and found no concerns with the electrical system.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further insight but are assisting the emergency services as they continue to look into the cause of the incident.

“In the meantime, our teams remain in touch with the family and are providing support where needed.

“We would like to thank the local fire brigade for their quick response.”

Amy said: “I'm just frustrated because I feel like this could have been avoided,” she said.

“At the end of the day it is just a house and it [belongings] is stuff, I'm grateful that everyone is ok.”

A firefighter at the scene, she said, told her events would have been ‘very different’ if the fire had happened while they were sleeping.

“That’s so scary to [think] that my son would have probably been asleep in that room if [it happened] at night,” she said. “I could have lost another child – or possibly all of us.”

To view the fundraiser set up to support Amy and her family, visit tinyurl.com/49htz2un