Mother-of-two is forced to flee family home after brand new Candy tumble dryer from Argos burst into flames while she was sleeping and killed four-year-old pet Jack Russell
- A mother-of-two has fled her home after her new tumble dryer set alight
- Claire Shipley, 35, was woken by her fire alarm at 2.30am on June 6 alerting her to a blaze in her three-bedroom home in Peterlee, County Durham
- She had bought the tumble dryer from Argos but it burst into flames
- Roxy, the family dog, was killed in the fire, leaving the family with a huge bill
A mother-of-two was forced to flee her home with her toddler after her brand new tumble dryer set alight killing their family pet.
Claire Shipley, 35, had a lucky escape when her Candy tumble dryer, which she bought at Argos earlier that day, burst into flames at 2.30am on June 6 at her three bedroomed home in Peterlee, County Durham.
The devastating fire destroyed Claire’s kitchen and killed the family’s four year old Jack Russell, Roxy.
A mother-of-two has fled her home after her brand new Candy tumble dryer caught fire at her three-bedroom property in Peterlee, County Durham, on June 6
Now, Claire has been left with £13,000 worth of damage as everything from furniture to clothes need to be replaced due to smoke and soot as well as a £1900 vet bill.
Claire who lives with son’s Luke, 13, and Noah three, said: ‘I bought a new tumble dryer but I didn’t set it up until late at night because I have a three year old who doesn’t leave me alone.
‘Luckily, my eldest son was staying out.
‘I set it up when he’d gone to bed, dried some clothes in it for 10 minutes, took them out and unplugged the dryer.
‘I was upstairs in bed for 45 minutes and the smoke alarm started going off so I went to the top of the stairs and saw the smoke so I just ran into Noah’s room and darted out of the front door.
Claire Shipley, 35, was awoken at 2.30am by her family after the machine burst into flames, forcing her to escape the home with her two sons, Luke, 13 and Noah, three
‘It was absolutely terrifying.
‘I had to leave the dog behind, I wouldn’t have risked it anyway but the fire was blocking the door way.’
The firefighters rescued Roxy when they’d arrived and resuscitated her before she was rushed to an emergency vet but the Jack Russell couldn’t be saved and sadly died 12 hours later.
The event planner said: ‘We’re devastated. Now we’ve got a £1,900 vets bill to pay. And I have to replace everything in the house which is working out at about £13,000.
‘We’re still having quotes done for things like the walls, windows and doors which all need to be replaced. We’re lucky no one was hurt.’
Claire and Noah have moved in with partner Mark Robinson, 35, while Luke stays with family and they have no idea when they’ll be able to return home.
Ms Shipley (pictured with Noah), has been left with £13,000 of damage and a vet bill of £1900 after their pet dog Roxy, a Jack Russell was unable to be saved from the blaze
Friends have set up a fundraiser page to help the family replace their belongings and rebuild their home (Ms Shipley pictured with her son, Luke)
Claire said: ‘I just want to warn people of the importance of having smoke alarms, it had potentially caught fire 45 minutes before I knew about it. It’s scary to think how quickly it all happened.
‘It’s also important to insure your pet because I didn’t and now we’ve got this massive bill that I don’t know how I’m going to pay.’
Claire’s friends have set up a fundraising page to help her replace her belongings and rebuild her home.
An Argos spokesperson said, ‘We have expressed our sympathies to Claire. We have also reassured her we will support Candy’s investigation in any way we can.’
A Candy spokesperson said: ‘We were alerted to this issue by the retailer on 19th June 2020 and have been working closely with them to organise an investigation.
‘We are saddened to hear of this incident and take any reports very seriously, so are undertaking a thorough examination to determine the cause.’
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