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Residents on the street of a Walthamstow fire have relived the moment they watched their family heirlooms go up in flames.
A major blaze between Vallentin Road and Shernhall Street on Sunday evening saw one house destroyed and numerous garden studios and sheds burnt to the ground.
The families heirlooms are buried in the rubbleESThe family’s shed and garden was destroyed ESThe fire broke out at around 6:30pm, with residents claiming that all the trees along the embankment of the railway were alight within 17 minutes.
Ed and Mathilda Simmons, residents of the affected road, lost all their family heirlooms in the fire.
Buried in the rubble are the remains of the family’s most treasured possessions, surrounded by melted plastic toys, clothing, and unidentifiable objects singed and destroyed by the blaze.
In a tragic twist of fate the family had been storing their possessions in the garden studio while they renovated their loft.
Their house was untouched but the outbuilding was gutted by the devastating fire that tore through their garden.
“The building is replaceable, but it’s the things from our family. We’ve lost it all. I had baby clothes that had been knitted by my grandma, we had photos, things that belonged to grandparents,” said Mathilda.
She added that they had been saving these items to pass down to their children, aged two and five.
Now, they face the challenge of sorting through what little remains.
“It’s dawning on us that this is not going to be resolved overnight. It was exceptionally lucky that nobody died,” she said. “There are a lot of innocent people here who have to deal with this.”
One property was entirely destroyed, while as many as 30 gardens suffered in the blazeLondon Standard The parents thanked the London Fire Brigade and the local community who had been “incredible”.
Another resident spoke about watching his garden studio and the bottom of his garden burn to the ground.
He told The Standard that he and his partner first saw the fire break out over their CCTV while they travelled back into Walthamstow.
By the time they were home, their entire garden was on fire.
“We were screaming to anybody who could help because our house was going to be next,” he said.
Another resident who also did not want to be named said he was “stressed, shocked and in disbelief.”
The fire ripped through a property in WalthamstowLondon StandardA fourth resident said the owners of the destroyed property had only moved into the top flat of the maisonette weeks ago.
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The community has rallied in solidarity since the fire broke out.
Mr Simmons told the Standard that people had donated food, coffees, pizzas, and air conditioning units to support families affected. The local church St. Mary’s had been used as a support centre while residents waited to return to their homes.
It comes as the London Fire Brigade said there was an “extreme” threat of wildfires in the capital over the weekend amid the latest summer heatwave.
Wildfires can be naturally occurring, but the majority are caused by human behaviour, whether deliberate or accidental.
Londoners are being urged to create firebreaks around their gardens in the face of the “extreme” threat of wildfires in the sustained period of hot weather.
Officials are working to determine a cause for the blaze, while urgent work is underway to get the Weaver line back on its feet.