Online fundraiser launched to help Northampton family of four whose home was destroyed in air fryer fire weeks before Christmas
An online fundraiser has been set up to help a Northampton family of four whose house was destroyed in a fire just weeks before Christmas – which was caused by an air fryer.
An online fundraiser has been set up to help a Northampton family of four whose house was destroyed in an air fryer fire just weeks before Christmas.
The Berryman family saw their home in The Knoll, Brixworth, go up in flames on Monday at around 10am.
Dad-of-two Carl was at work at Amber Cars when he received an Apple HomePod alert on his phone saying smoke had been detected. He did not know what the alert meant until a next-door neighbour rang and told him there was a huge fire at his home.
Carl’s colleague Dave, who was with him at the time, told the Chronicle & Echo: “Me and Carl were at work when he started getting a strange notification on his phone he's never had before, saying something like siren detected or something detected basically.
“His neighbour went round there, she turned around and started screaming saying the house is on fire. Very bravely, she opened the back door, ducked under the flames and openly pulled the dog out.
“As soon as his neighbour was screaming, we just both jumped in my car. We drove from Moulton Park to Brixworth. We got there before the fire engine. We managed to put most of it out with the garden hose.”
On the scale of the damage, Dave said: “The kitchen's absolutely burned to a crisp, completely destroyed. It’s heavily, heavily smoke damaged. It’s like a thick black smog everywhere. They've had to have the electrics cut off, the gas cut. They've basically got to have the house completely renovated. It's going to be months, they've been told.”
He added: “They are devastated. Absolutely devastated. Carl, Carly, the two kids and two dogs have been out of their house for two days now. They're staying with the neighbour who rushed in and saved the dog's life. They're basically living out of thin bags at the minute.
“Just before Christmas – it couldn't have been a worse time. Carl and Carly are going to Vegas for Karl’s 40th on Christmas Day as well.”
Dave and the Amber Cars team have started a JustGiving page for Carl and his family. So far, at the time of writing, it has raised £4,375 of its £5,000 target from 93 supporters.
Dave said: “We're just trying to raise as much as we can to help them out. They're having to replace absolutely everything. The money will go towards immediate help. They are going through insurance, but I just want to give them something to help them over Christmas. They can't believe people are as nice and as caring as they have been.”
Dave added: “Karl's an amazing man. He would give anybody his laugh out. He’d be willing to help anybody. He's helped me out more times than I can count. He's the most selfless human being you'll ever meet. Carly is as well. They're a good, solid family. They've been together since they were kids. They're unbelievable people.”
Dave said fire crews believe the blaze was caused by the air fryer in the kitchen.
He said: “Even though they didn't use it since the day before, they said they're renowned for causing issues, setting fire. And that's the cause of it.”
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called shortly after 10am on Monday (December 1) to reports of the fire in a house on The Knoll in Brixworth.
A NFRS spokeswoman said: “Crews from The Mounts and Moulton attended the incident, and wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to put out the fire that had started in the kitchen. “Crews isolated the gas and electrics to the property, and returned to their stations by 12pm. Two people were left in the care of East Midlands Ambulance Service. “After an investigation, the fire was deemed to have been started by an air fryer that had been accidentally turned on.”