A fire that tore through six homes on Gorleston Road in Highters Heath, Birmingham, on August 13 has left the community in shock and families without homes. The blaze, which started at the rear of the properties on Daisy Farm Park, is being treated as a suspected arson by the fire service.
Fire Destroys Six Homes on Gorleston Road
The fire ripped through the row of terraced houses, destroying everything inside. Windows were smashed, front doors were ripped from their hinges, and roofs caved in, leaving rubble and debris strewn across multiple blackened floors.
Fire Commander Peter Simmons, from Billesley Station, confirmed that the fire initially broke out on Daisy Farm Park, behind the homes. He told BirminghamLive that the service is treating it as a suspected arson incident after speaking to people in the area. The investigation has been handed to West Midlands Police, who have been contacted for comment.
Residents Describe Loss and Fear
Andrew Reynolds, who spoke to BirminghamLive at the scene, said he watched his childhood home of 30 years go up in flames. He rushed to the house, where his mother still lived, shortly after the fire broke out, but was unable to save anything. His mother was at work at the time and is safe.
"There's nothing left," said the 42-year-old. "Mum's lost everything more or less, to be honest. I got down here but, by the time I got here, nothing could be done. I watched our family home burn down. All my mum's possessions, all the family things in the loft from my nan and grandad, photographs of yesteryear. Everything's gone, it's all gone. My mum's lost everything. She's walking around with just the clothes on her back."
Another resident, Emily Dalton, said her family were "very lucky" that the fire did not spread to their home. "My mum has oxygen so, if it hit her house, we would have went boom," she said. Emily praised the local community for coming together in such a distressing time.
Investigation and Community Support
Commander Simmons added: "We've requested a fire investigation. They've been extremely busy, so they're only coming here this morning. Residents have suggested they thought it was arson, or that the fire started at the back of the properties. They believe that it was deliberate ignition along there."
When asked if he thought it was suspected arson, he said: "Suspected, but I can't really tell at the moment because, at the rear of the properties, there are a run of about 10 houses where the fences and the gardens are all destroyed. It's affected some of the rears of the properties so we'd have to get the proper fire investigators, potentially with the fire dog, so they can investigate the scene where we believe it started."
A GoFundMe page has been started by TikTokker Ringz N Tiingz to help the affected families. It has already raised more than £8,000 so far.
