Supporting the Gilham Family after House Fire

Good evening everyone.

My name is Kellie Milano and I run Club AUsome Medway - a charity for children with disabilities.

Sadly on the evening of Saturday 2nd of May, one of our families was affected by a horrific fire within their home.

Kirstie, Ian and their three children Jamie 19, Alice 15 and Amber 9.

Despite life being tough Kirstie gives up lots of time to Club AUsome and works tirelessly to try and help other families of children with neurological conditions.

Ian works hard for his family, Jamie is doing an apprenticeship at a local car firm and has been working throughout the current crisis with the virus.
Alice has alopecia and type 1 Diabetes, all she has been worried about is family photos and her GCSE course work.
Amber was born prematurely and has learning disabilities, recently being diagnosed as on the Autistic Spectrum.

I have known the family now for over 13 years and on receiving the news by text last night about the fire I shot straight over to them. What I saw I don’t think anyone should ever see. Absolutely devastating.

They thankfully all got out and are safe, with just Jamie having minor burns - which after what I saw is nothing short of a miracle.

According to initial reports from the fire brigade, this seems to have been down to an electrical fault within the kitchen, which caught light where the wiring was which then set the youngest children’s bedroom alight. The girl's bedroom - this I believe is what alerted neighbours nearby to the fire ravaging through their home.
Kirstie got the girls out and Ian ran upstairs to get Jamie out of the house.

The firefighters told us several times last night that they aren’t sure how Ian got Jamie out of the house alive, the fire was that intense.

Without going into more graphic details the house is completely damaged, the family left the home with nothing but the clothes they were wearing - barefoot.

The fire has ripped through the upstairs of the home and there is smoke and water damage throughout the downstairs too.

I remained with the family at the scene last night and when the firm came to board up their home arrived to do so, the ceiling in the kitchen ( the girl's bedroom floor ) collapsed deeming the house more unsafe than previously thought and as you can imagine there is nothing left that can be salvaged.

I know times are incredibly hard right now, but please if you can find a way to support this family, Kirstie, Ian and their children, my wonderful kind caring friends I will be incredibly grateful.

When I arrived at their home last night I thought I may have lost them and my heart was broken, thankfully I didn’t, and I am forever thankful for that.. but now I’d like to help them a little bit towards building their lives back up.

Some will no doubt ask about insurances, and at the moment whilst I believe insurance is in place it is all taking a very long time and it’s likely the family won’t be back in their family home this year.

Please help me to help them.

Lots of love to you all, thank you for reading.

❤️