Westbury resident ‘thankful to be alive’ following house fire

A man from Westbury has said he is thankful to be alive after a house fire destroyed part of his home.

The fire broke out on 9th May at the home of Mark Ogden near The Mead after embers from a garden fire pit, which had been believed to be extinguished, reignited and set fire to a bush before spreading to the property.

Mark had fallen unconscious due to carbon monoxide poisoning and did not respond to smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, despite windows being blown out during the blaze.

Neighbours raised the alarm after spotting the fire and repeatedly called his phone, eventually waking him.

“Without them, it definitely would have been a different story,” said Mark’s partner Emma Bevan. “The fire brigade said that another five minutes and they would have been dragging a body out.”

Emma has set up a fundraising page to support Mark as there was no insurance in place.

“It’s destroyed half the house, but they’ve told us we have to get rid of everything,” said Emma. “We can’t keep anything because of smoke, fire and water damage, and then all the toxic stuff that’s given off with plastics,” she said.

“If I can just raise something so we can get the roof done. The cosmetic side of things can just be done slowly. He had nothing on and lost everything. He just grabbed my pink towelling robe and ran outside.”

“His late wife passed away over five years ago from cancer, so it’s all of those memories that have gone up in smoke as well.”

Mark said, “I’m really grateful to friends, neighbours and family. The support has been amazing. It means so much. I thought it was going to take years to rebuild from this, if I could at all.”

Emma is also hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of outdoor fires.

She said, “This is the time of year now where the weather’s going to be nice, people will be wanting to do barbecues and things like that, and if any lesson is to be learned it is to make sure that they are extinguished properly.

“And also, whether you have bought your property, make sure you have your buildings and contents insurance because literally within, say, 10 minutes, everything has gone up and there’s nothing.”

To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emma-bevan