Eight families left homeless after horror fire which leapt from £6 BBQ tears through terrace

A £6 disposable barbecue has left eight families without homes after sparking a devastating fire that tore through an Essex terrace.

The inferno, which broke out on June 21, rendered all eight properties on the Basildon street completely uninhabitable.

Firefighters from seven different stations were deployed to tackle the blaze as flames raced across the connected rooftops.

Paryss Reynolds, 25, revealed that her mother Cara had been using the disposable BBQ to cook when a nearby tree caught fire.

"My mum was at home on her own... she'd cooked a burger on a disposable barbecue, which we've done dozens of times, and she'd gone inside to eat it," Ms Reynolds said.

"After a minute she heard a massive roar and ran outside and a tree near our fence was completely alight - she ran inside to get a bucket of water to throw on it and when she got back out it had spread to the roof, it was just completely ablaze."

The terraced roofs allowed the fire to spread with alarming speed through all eight homes.

Ms Reynolds described the aftermath as devastating, saying her family has lost everything they owned.

"I can't believe my home is gone but it's not just us, these are all family homes and everybody has been made homeless," she said.

Her mother remains deeply traumatised by the incident.

"My mum can't get the sound of sirens out of her ears, she is in so much shock and heartbroken. She feels so guilty for everyone," Ms Reynolds added.

Mike Campbell, 37, who lives over the road, saw the fire unfold and considers himself fortunate his home escaped the damage.

"We noticed the smoke and the fire engines weren't far behind. It looks like the bitumen from the old flat roof went up - it was scary," he said.

His property backs onto the affected row but sustained only minor ash and debris.

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"I don't know what they're going to do if they're uninhabitable because they're prefabricated. It's a shame," Mr Campbell said.

Multiple fundraising campaigns have been established to support the displaced families, with Basildon Council launching its own GoFundMe campaign.

Ms Reynolds, along with her mother and brother, has been temporarily housed in a hotel by local authorities.

However, the family is actively searching for alternative accommodation as they wait for news about when they might return.

"We were allowed to go back to collect some things and the damage is awful, the roof is bowing in and like it could collapse," she said.

Being a household of three with pets has made the hotel arrangement particularly challenging.

"The council have put us up in a hotel room, but as a family of three with pets we need to find somewhere else."

During a return visit to the property, she spotted the family cat but was unable to retrieve her.

"When I went back yesterday I managed to find our cat, but she was so scared she ran away and I wasn't able to get hold of her," she said.

The community response has provided some comfort to the family amid the devastation.

"The whole thing has been absolutely devastating, the support people have shown the fundraiser has brought me to tears," Ms Reynolds said.

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