Fire

By Lia Bichel
A FAMILY who watched helplessly as a blaze ripped through their Endeavour Hills home this week said they had been overwhelmed with community support.
Mr Thatcher and his wife Marissa have thanked the community for donations and their offers of help after the couple’s Struan Avenue house and many of their belongings went up in flames on Monday morning.
Bruno Thatcher, 45, was only half an hour into starting the first day of his new job when he received a frantic phone call from his wife telling him their house was on fire.
Mr Thatcher raced home to find fire crews in the street and his house ablaze.
“I felt numb,” Mr Thatcher said.
“I felt like I was floating above watching it burn. Everything I have worked for was gone.”
Mrs Thatcher, 36, said she could smell smoke coming from one of their daughter’s bedrooms and when she went to investigate she found the child’s bed on fire.
She immediately got the children out of the house and together they stood on the street and watched their family house crumble under the flames.
Luckily, some sentimental items including photos were salvaged, but 80 per cent of the house was destroyed.
The couple said the show of community support began almost immediately.
“One lady had walked to the Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre to ask for donations while the house was still burning. Another lady saw that my wife wasn’t wearing any shoes and offered her a pair of thongs,” Mr Thatcher said.
A neighbour offered to look after their children and close friends John and Maria Weninger took the kids to their house after the fire and also offered the family a place to stay.
Mr Thatcher said they had received donations from The South Eastern Christian Centre and Endeavour Hills Catholic Church.
“The community support has been amazing,” he said.
“We have been offered clothing, bedding, and money. People are opening their hearts.”
Mr Thatcher said the fire was devastating, especially in the weeks before Christmas, but said family and friends would help them through the difficult time.
“The way I look at it is we have to move forward. I can only look towards the future,” he said.
“The main thing is we have great support from family and friends.”
The fire is still under investigation, but is believed to have started from an electrical fault in a bedroom.