A Birmingham family has been left homeless just weeks before Christmas after a devastating fire tore through their rented home in Yardley. The blaze, which started shortly after midday on Sunday, November 23, ravaged the upstairs of the property, leaving the family with nothing.
Teenager Jayden, who lives with his younger brother, mother, and stepfather Stephen James, shared that fire investigators traced the fire’s origin to his bedroom. “I was at work when the fire broke out. The fire marshal said it likely started from an electrical fault with my bedside table, which had plugs and USB sockets left on,” Jayden explained. “The fire spread so quickly that nothing upstairs was salvageable.”
The flames engulfed every upstairs room, including his little brother’s bedroom, who was inside when the fire alarm went off. “Thankfully, the alarm alerted us in time,” Jayden said. “My stepdad tried to put out the fire, but it was too powerful."
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Currently, the family has no permanent place to stay and is “hotel hopping,” waiting for news from their landlord. Stephen, who moved into the property six months ago with his partner and her two sons, described the terrifying moment he was alerted to the fire. “I had just gotten out of the shower when the smoke detector sounded. I saw smoke pouring from Jayden’s bedroom and tried to smother the flames with towels, but it was too late. The most important thing is that everyone is safe, but losing everything so close to Christmas is heartbreaking.”
The community has rallied around the family, providing support and donations. Stephen has set up a JustGiving page to raise £3,000 to help the family get back on their feet. On the fundraising page, he wrote: “A mother and her two young sons have lost everything in this devastating fire. She has worked tirelessly as a single mother to care for her children. Any support would mean the world to them as they try to rebuild their lives.”