Teen's family lucky to be alive after forbidden vape sparks catastrophic fire
Sitting in her living room with her four-year-old son, when Heidi Johnson heard her smoke alarm go off, she assumed it was just a false alarm.
It had gone off before for no apparent reason, but she scoured her home just in case.
But when she got upstairs, she was hit with thick black smoke and saw that her teenage daughter's bedroom was completely ablaze.
Horrified, the mum-of-three shouted for everyone to get out of the house and dialled 999.
The carer, from Batley, West Yorkshire, said: "Now and again the alarms go off and there's no problems.
Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout
"I checked the kitchen one and it wasn't flashing red. I checked the living room one, and it wasn't flashing red.
Heidi has been left living in her car as the property is now unliveable (Kennedy News and Media)
Firefighters believe it was caused by a vape (Kennedy News and Media)"I thought it was probably just a dickie [alarm].
"When I got to the top of the stairs, it was just black. I couldn't see anything.
"I saw a bit of a light coming out of my daughter's bedroom. I pushed the door back and it was all up in flames.
"I never expected it. When I saw it I screamed.
"My friend and my son were at the bottom of the stairs. I told them to go, I said 'get out, get out!' and pushed them next door.
"It went so quickly, it was so scary seeing the flames."
It's believed that her 16-year-old daughter's secret cherry cola-flavour vape, which was lying empty in the bin, sparked the devastating fire when the lithium in the battery leaked.
The rented house has been destroyed, leaving the family now separated and homeless, with Heidi living in her car with the family dog.
The incident happened last month on April 15 at around 7.15pm.
Woman celibate for 11 years gives birth to baby after buying £25 DIY sperm kit
The fire has devastated the house (Kennedy News and Media)
They initially thought it was a gas leak (Kennedy News and Media)It was the week after Heidi's daughter's 16th birthday, which they had celebrated by decorating her bedroom and buying her a new TV.
Luckily, the teen - who was not allowed to vape - was out of the house when it burst into flames.
But now, her mum says the teen is riddled with guilt.
"She's devastated, absolutely heartbroken. It's just a shock. I don't think I've even accepted what has gone on," Heidi continued.
"The fire brigade turned up and at first they thought it was a gas leak.
The teen's bedroom was destroyed by the fire (Kennedy News and Media)
Heidi screamed when she saw the damage after firefighters had been in (Kennedy News and Media)"It turned out it was my daughter's vape, but it had been there for ages. She said it was dead.
"It was just in the bin in her room. She said it had been in there all day.
"The thing is, my daughter wasn't even allowed vapes in the house.
"I've already banned vapes from my house, but I can't put it on her. It's just one of those things that has happened. I know she's taken it worse, because it was her vape. She blames herself for it.
"The fire brigade said it was the lithium in the battery that had leaked out of the vape and caused the fire."
Shocking pictures show the property and all their possessions covered in soot, beyond repair.
While the upstairs was destroyed by the smoke and fire, the downstairs suffered water damage too.
As a result, the children have been forced to live with family members while the 37-year-old sleeps in her car every night with her four-year-old dog Bubbles until they can find alternative accommodation.
The teen, who had just had her room decorated for her 16th birthday, feels awful about what happened (Kennedy News and Media)
They can no longer step foot inside the ruined house (Kennedy News and Media)Heidi said: "I can't even go in the house, even if I wanted to get something out, it's so dangerous.
"It's sickening, I'm 37 years old and I've got nothing apart from my car, it's horrible.
"The thing is my daughter wasn't even allowed vapes but it's just one of those things that happened.
"It's all gone, it burnt everything. The kids have no toys or everyday things.
"We've been left completely homeless, it's really affecting my kids. I just want to be normal and back with my kids.
"It's reality. I'm just plodding along and trying to do what I can do for my children, but it just isn't working.
"Everything just seems to be getting worse. It's hard, I'm trying to deal with one thing and then another happens.
Grateful no one was hurt, Heidi hopes that in sharing her story she can highlight the potential dangers of vapes and the importance of properly disposing of them.
Heidi added: "I'll survive. I'm here and alive. Just don't vape. At the end of the day, it isn't worth it.
"When you're in my situation and you're living in the car with your dog separated from your kids. It's all because of a vape.
"They don't even have any warnings or proper disposal places for them.
[Stock image] Heidi has called for special disposal bins for e-cigs (Getty Images)"Something so dangerous and there's no proper disposal bins for them, they're just getting thrown left, right, and centre.
"You don't think it's going to happen because it's dead and it's useless but it's taken my whole house out.
"I'm so scared of them now, I never want to see one again."
"My daughter's trying to keep going but she's suffering, all my kids are and I'm not even able to be around them at times like this. It's just crazy.
"It could happen any time, anywhere and there's nowhere to get rid of them. There hopefully will be soon.
"I just don't want this to happen to anyone else. You don't think it can happen, I never even knew it could happen."
You can donate to Heidi's fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/4xctwd-house-fire
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
