Online fundraiser launched to help Northampton nurse rebuild life after her narrow boat was destroyed in huge fire
An online fundraiser has been set up to help a 50-year-old Northampton General Hospital (NGH) worker “rebuild her life” after her narrow boat was destroyed in a fire.
Jane Sanderson’s life was turned upside down when a fire broke out on her narrowboat at the marina near Victoria Promenade at 5am last Tuesday (October 22).
Firefighters arrived to find her boat fully alight, forcing 20 residents to evacuate. Jane was treated for smoke inhalation and is now physically fine, but she has been left with the devastating effects of losing everything.
Her colleague Sharron Matthews, along with others at NGH, have stepped in to help Jane get back on her feet, first securing her a temporary place to live on NGH grounds.
Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo, Sharron said: “She’s lost absolutely everything. Everything. You can’t try to understand what that feels like. I’ve been in contact with her every day. Her whole life has been turned upside down.
"She had to go back into the narrowboat to get the dog out; she burnt all of her hair going back in. Luckily, she’s okay. It’s just the mental aspects of it all now.
"She’s never going to get some of the most personal things back, like pictures of her dad who recently passed away.
"She’s said she had a really bad week, and over the weekend, she felt even more lonely because the shock of everything is starting to wear off, and the realisation is starting to dawn on her.”
According to Sharron, the fire alarm on Jane’s boat saved her life. She said: “The biggest thing, make sure you have smoke alarm. They think it was an electrical fault. If she hadn’t had a smoke alarm in the barge, she would never have got out. She was asleep. It saved her life.”
To help Jane financially, Sharron has set up a GoFundMe to help replace essential belongings. The campaign has raised £2,730 of its £2,000 target, with donations pouring in from 146 supporters so far (as of Wednesday, October 30).
She said: “I just thought, us at the NHS, we’ve got to pull together and do something. We’ve now raised over £2,600 to help her buy clothes and begin setting up a new home. Any donations would be greatly received.”