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DIY SOS-style house rebuild set for blaze victims

Ethan Saundersin Sandyford
BBC A man wearing a black ushanka hat with a cap underneath it. He has a blue coat on with a beige vest underneath. He is wearing black framed glasses and is looking towards the camera solemnly. In the background is demolished bricks that were leftover from the fire that destroyed his house.BBC
John Draycott has been back to the scene of the fire numerous times to check to see what was left underneath the rubble.

"We're going to have to get out of here, pronto," was what John Draycott said to wife Veronica as a fire raced towards their home.

The couple escaped with seconds to spare as flames spread through their Sandyford house, which was gutted and later demolished after a barbecue blaze got out of control.

Now, a community-led campaign is aiming to rebuild the house, the worst affected in the fire that tore through the area of Stoke-on-Trent on 13 August amid tinder dry conditions, from the ground up.

Curtis Peters, of TS Domestics, and Javaid Iqbal, from Impact Stoke, hope tradespeople, firms and residents will donate skills, labour and materials for the project, which needs planning permission.

The property, for which the Draycotts were not insured, later had to be pulled down because the fire had left it structurally unstable.

It has left the couple facing the prospect of losing their home entirely, prompting the community-led effort to rebuild it.

Once planning permissions is secured, organisers estimate the rebuild will take about 18 months to complete.

For John, the memories of the fire remain vivid.

"I was in total shock and devastated," he said.

A house that has been destroyed by a fire. All that remains is a shell of brick work, charred timber, rubble and ash.
The fire, which started in a nearby park, spread through multiple gardens and destroyed four homes including the Draycotts' own

After spotting smoke nearby, he initially believed a building several doors away had caught fire.

"I ran upstairs, looked through the bathroom window, saw three doors away on fire and then started panicking," he told the BBC.

"Within just those few minutes, it spread from three doors away to our corner."

As the fire moved through the garden, Draycott realised they had no time to save any belongings.

"As soon as I saw it coming up through the garden, I turned round to the wife saying: 'Look, we're going to have to get out of here - we've got no choice. We've got time to grab nothing.'"

A pile of rubble which used to be a house that was destroyed by a fire.
What has been left of the Draycott's family home. Once planning is confirmed it is hoped the new house will be built in 18 months on the site of the former.

The couple fled the house empty-handed.

"We just dashed out the front door," he said.

"I shut the door behind me with the intention of hopefully slowing down the fire, but it didn't make any difference."

"It just whistled through this lot in no time at all. Twenty minutes to half an hour this house was burnt right through completely."

A man with short grey hair and beard, he is wearing a chocolate brown jacket with an olive green jumper underneath. He is looking at the camera smiling. In the background is various bits of rubble and a burnt out vehicle that has since rusted over.
Iqbal has 17 years' experience working in the construction industry and after seeing the devastation caused by the fires felt he wanted to do his part to help the family that had no house insurance

Even Draycott's false teeth were among possessions he lost.

Following the fire, members of the community and staff at The Terrace Dental Clinic helped provide him with a replacement set.

It was that support, organisers say, which showed how much local people wanted to help.

Iqbal said seeing the couple's situation inspired him to act.

"I've seen the couple in their 80s and they were left absolutely hopeless," he said.

"They didn't have insurance and I thought that with me having a construction background and having TS Domestics involved, we could put this together as a community."

A man in a back puffer vest with a blue jumper underneath, he is stood next to A man wearing a black ushanka hat with a cap underneath it. He has a blue coat on with a beige vest underneath. They are both looking at the camera smiling. In the background is demolished bricks that were leftover from the fire that destroyed his house.
Curtis Peters, stood alongside Draycott at the site, said that while it will be a massive project, "it's completely achievable"

Peters said the project would be the largest community initiative he had ever worked on.

"We saw it happen, so we came together and decided let's get it rebuilt," he said.

Organisers said even the foundations were affected by the fire, meaning the house will need to be completely rebuilt.

A police officer stood in the middle of the road in front of a cordon where fire engines are in place dealing with a fire. The scene is still very smoky.
Emergency services continued to be at the scene on Sandy Road for 48 hours after the fire started.

Peters said the response from the community had already been encouraging, but more help was still needed.

"At first I thought it was a massive project, and it is a massive project, but as soon as we sat down and talked it through, I think it's completely achievable," he said.

"It's going to be so good for the community to see a brand-new house here again."

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