Blind Colne grandma escapes charger fire as 'heartbroken' elderly couple left homeless

Barbara Goff had a close escape when a charger overheated and set aflame while she was home alone last month. Despite being blind, the 76-year-old managed to think fast and exit the house in time.

Barbara and her husband Bernard (82), who are currently in care homes, have been left “devastated” by the blaze, as they will be unable to return to the Derby Street property where they had lived for more than half a century.

Now their family are fundraising as much as possible to help the couple pay for a new home or furniture and warning others to unplug their chargers when not in use.

Their daughter, Sarah Holt (45), said: “It’s just been awful. They’re devastated. The fire destroyed the whole house and everything in it. Everything’s gone, including pictures. They had lived there for 51 years.

“It’s awful for them; for all of us. We’re in limbo.”

Sarah and one of her daughters had been helping to care for Barbara, making her daily meals and cleaning up the house, while Bernard was in hospital after breaking his ankle.

They stayed all day on the day of the fire and left the house late.

But around 9-30pm, Barbara was in the front room and could hear something “running through the wall”.

She quickly moved to a back room where she could feel the heat, then ran down a passage that led her outside before the fire “literally burnt the house down.”

Speaking about her mum’s lucky escape, Sarah added: “If she had been anywhere else in the house or hadn’t known about the fire, she wouldn’t have made it."

Barbara then suffered a heart attack while spending a week in the hospital.

Wanting to help the couple, 15-year-old Marnie, one of their granddaughters, decided to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise £300 towards the cost of a new home.

In a post on the page, Marnie said: “My grandma got out in time and she is so lucky for that. She’s a very strong woman and shouted for help. Unfortunately, everything in the house has been burnt in the house from top to bottom. My grandma is currently in the hospital now struggling and both my grandma and pops are heartbroken.”

The fundraiser has illustrated the popularity of the husband and wife, who met while working as bus drivers in the area. Sarah says her mum was the first female bus driver in Burnley, while her dad spent his retirement as a lollipop man for Foulridge Primary School.

The community quickly rallied around the pair, and in just two weeks, the Go Fund Me page has amassed more than £2,000.

Despite her parents’ plight, Sarah says the community support “has kept them going.”

She added: “The number of people who have donated and shown they are thinking about them and want to help them get them furniture for a new home has been overwhelming. It has given them hope.”

To donate, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/mash74-house-fire?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3-KeyYmzTY7UjTnGtI0Aahtow4ZhdJ7KFPFB5WVot_KscsjTJf5oY9Uy8