Woman's horror after flat blaze kills pet cat

A woman who escaped her flat after it burst into flames "within minutes" when a candle set fire to her curtains, is distraught after the "horrific" ordeal, which killed her pet cat.

Tia Henderson's council flat in Chadderton burst into flames on 12 August, leaving her home uninhabitable and her belongings destroyed.

The 21-year-old said she "absolutely panicked" when she saw the fire taking hold, but managed to escape with her dog and one cat. Sadly, another cat was trapped in the blaze and died.

“I feel so guilty. It’s something that you do every day, lighting a candle. You see stuff like this all the time on social media I just never thought it could be me in this position," she said.

Ms Henderson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she heard the smoke alarm and recalled walking into the living room to see her sofa and curtains on fire.

“I absolutely panicked. I saw it and I just froze," she said.

“I was just panicking, thinking of anything to do to lessen the fire. But within three minutes of me walking in the room the whole place was in flames.”

“I opened the window for my cats to get out. I managed to push one outside. I thought I’d pushed both outside, but it turns out that one of them was still in the house," said the former support worker.

Ms Henderson said it "seemed like forever" before the fire service arrived, but went on to praise the "great" firefighters who "straightaway" found and tried to save her second cat, Treasure.

But it was too late.

“She was a little rescue. I just feel like I let her down," she said.

All her belongings were destroyed in the blaze, which caused part of the ceiling to fall down and left extensive smoke damage.

“The smoke damage is horrendous. Nothing is salvageable," said Ms Henderson, who has been left with just the clothes she was wearing when the fire broke out.

Oldham Council is helping the 21-year-old find emergency accommodation as it could be months before she can move back into her home.

But she said the support from the community had been "overwhelming".

"There’s people offering me their sofas, their pots and pans, their clothes - people offering to make me meals.

"When it comes to it, you know, people do really stick their neck out for each other, which I appreciate massively."

Candes in the home can be "dangerous" and should not be left unattended or close to flammable objects, a spokesman for the Greater Manchester Fire Service warned.

“If there is a fire in your home, get out, stay out and call 999, don’t try to tackle the fire yourself, and never go back into a burning building," he added.

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