A family say they are "finding it hard" after watching their home of 30 years be destroyed by a fire. Destery O'Flynn, 27, said things have been rough since soot from the blaze caused significant damage to their house in St Merryn, near Padstow.
He has spoken after a house fire broke out on May 6, saying: "We left the property with the clothes on our backs, the pets and whatever soot-covered clothes we could salvage and clean up." Soot has damaged the entire property inside, with nearly everything needing to be replaced.
Fortunately, he and mum Jennifer Bell, 58, who lived in the home with their pets, were all unharmed but they have lost years' worth of memories. "Mum has lived there for 30 years this year and I’ve lived in the property for the majority of my life so the property has a lot of memories for us as well as my two sisters Karrie Bell, 37, and Nan Mather, 19, who also grew up in the property."
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Destery added: "They no longer reside there but it will always be their family home. The impact it’s had on us is life-changing, we feel rather lost and uncertain.
"I have a few mental health issues which get triggered off by traumatic events like this. The first few nights were rather rough and we're still struggling to process it although are now coming to terms with it a bit more.
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"Mum is finding it hard being away from home as she is a homebody and doesn’t really like to travel far or be away for too long. She likes her creature comforts."
"Given the fact she has lived there for 30 years, she’s spent many years making it the home we know and love, only to now be faced with having to start again. Walking into the property and seeing it the way it is just breaks our hearts.
"It looks like it’s been abandoned for years it doesn’t look like our home. It brings tears to our eyes and feels like a million miles away from it being our home again. We are no closer to finding out when work will be commencing or even really what the plan of action is."
Destery has started a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising some finds to go towards replacing things like furniture, carpets and appliances when the time comes that they can return. You can view the fundraiser, here.
