Melton family 'absolutely devastated' to lose their dogs in a house fire
A Melton Mowbray family who lost their two beloved dogs and most of their possessions in a house fire say they are ‘absolutely devastated’.
Firefighters responded to reports of the blaze, at a property in Willoughby Close shortly after 7pm on December 11, and they battled to extinguish flames in the kitchen.
The couple who own the property were on a delayed honeymoon in Marrakesh, in Morocco, and their teenage son was also not at home at the time.
Friends, Jo and Dawn, were taking it in turns to house-sit while the owners were abroad and Dawn had popped home to feed her cat when the blaze broke out – it was believed to have started by a faulty extractor fan, which was not turned on.
Sadly, the family’s Fox Red Labradors, Flinn and Ozzy, were overcome by the thick smoke inside the property and attempts to resuscitate them failed.
The woman who lives at the property, who declined to be named, told the Melton Times: "We were abroad and in one phone call our world was turned upside down.
“We are absolutely devastated by what happened.
"We have lost everything, all of our possessions and our two beautiful boys.”
She praised the actions of Dawn when she returned to find the house on fire.
"Dawn, bless her, risked her life to go back inside and pull the boys out,” she said.
"She did CPR on the dogs to try to save them.”
The family are now staying at a hotel and will need to find somewhere else to live because of the extensive fire and smoke damage to their home.