Don’t leave your TV on standby this Christmas: Mother issues chilling warning after her house burned down in Boxing Day blaze
- Sonia Lane was at her sister’s home when she received the horrifying news
- Harrowing wreckage from day after fire shows how entire roof collapsed
A mother who ‘lost everything’ when her house burned down on Boxing Day is begging families to turn off their TV and digital box set-ups when visiting family this Christmas.
Sonia Lane and her husband Michael were at her sister’s home when a panicked neighbour called to tell her their bungalow in Sheerness, Kent, was on fire.
The 55-year-old rushed back and dropped to her knees in despair after finding six fire engines pumping water over her smouldering property.
Harrowing footage of the wreckage taken the day after the 2016 inferno shows how the entire roof had collapsed and gutted each room.
Tearful Mrs Lane also films the ‘completely devastated’ lounge at the rear of the property where she says both her TV and digital box were left on standby.
Mother-of-three Sonia Lane and her husband Michael have put out a chilling warning to families not to leave TVs on standby this Christmas, after recounting the horrific ordeal when their home burned down on Boxing Day 2016
NIGHTMARE AFTER CHRISTMAS: The bungalow in Sheerness, Kent caught fire while she and Michael were at her sister’s home
Pictured: Toys belonging to one of Sonia’s grandchildren (left) left in the rubble, and one of the bedrooms destroyed from the blaze (right)
Pictured: An overturned cot lying damaged in the master bedroom
Pictured: The roof caved in by the blaze, was started by an electrical fault from either the TV or the digital box, which were both left on standby
Pictured: The hob and fridge in the ash-covered kitchen
The mother-of-three claims Kent Fire and Rescue Service told her one of the two had started an electrical fire which spread through the rafters and caused the burning roof to fall in.
She posted the horrifying video on social media on December 9 to warn people to turn off their electrical devices if they’re out visiting family this Christmas.
They had only moved into the home 10 months before the incident. It cost £215,000 to rebuild shortly before they returned to it in time for Christmas 2017.
Mrs Lane says she’s had recurring nightmares that her grandchildren, who were with her when they left the house on Boxing Day, were being burned in coffins wrapped with Christmas paper.
Her video has been seen more than 800,000 times with users calling her tragedy ‘heartbreaking and their ‘worst fear’.
Mrs Lane, from Sheerness, Kent, said: ‘The fire fighter told me ‘don’t rush back to your home because there’s nothing to come back to’.
‘When they told me my heart just dropped and I went to jelly. I just kept shouting ‘the house is on fire’.
‘When I saw the house I collapsed to the floor and fell to my knees.
‘We lost absolutely everything. We only had the clothes we were standing in because everything that wasn’t fire damaged was smoke damaged.
‘We lost everything we bought for Christmas and all the sentimental things you keep in boxes in the loft like my kids’ first clothes.
‘It’s like going out to the shops, coming back and your house has disappeared with everything in it.
‘There was a big hole at the back of the house and they told me that’s where the fire started.
‘They asked me what we had there and it was the TV and the digital box so they took the remnants of the box.
‘If I could turn back time I’d have turned both of them off at the mains.
‘I wanted to share the video to remind people not to be complacent with things and to be mindful of things.
‘People leave their digital box on to record live TV but there’s catch-up now so there’s no need to leave it on at all.
‘I needed counselling for more than half a year. Every time I closed my eyes I kept dreaming of seeing my grandchildren in coffins wrapped in Christmas paper and then burning away.’
Pictured: Christmas decorations including a large tree were left burnt up in rubble as the blaze ripped through the home
A sink and bath filled with rubble and ash in a ruined bathroom
Pictured: Burnt objects scattering the hallway after the inferno, which left walls black and smoldered
Pictured: Slats left bare on the roof after the fire
The grandmother-of-four says the roof collapsed just seconds after Michael had gone into the house to collect some items from their bedroom
Pictured: The lounge where the fire is believed to have started
Sonia, Michael and two of her grandchildren left their house at 1pm and had only been at her sister’s in Romford, Essex, for a few minutes when they got the horrifying call.
Their phone number had been found on her two dogs’ collars after they had escaped into the garden with burned paws.
The grandmother-of-four says the roof collapsed just seconds after Michael had gone into the house to collect some items from their bedroom.
She claims to have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the event and no longer works.
Her TikTok video has almost 1,000 comments.
One user said: ‘I’m so sorry that happened to you, this is one of my biggest fears. I’m glad you are all safe.’
A second said: ‘This is one of my worst fears.. I’m so sorry for you.’
A third agreed and said: ‘Absolutely heartbreaking! How did you cope? This is the worst fear, I am so sorry you experienced this, I hope you are all well.’
A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called at 2.45pm on 26 December 2016 to reports of a fire at a bungalow in Sheerness.
‘Six fire engines attended and crews wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the flames using hose reel jets.
‘No injuries were reported, and it’s believed the fire started accidentally in the lounge and was linked to an electrical fault.’
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