Carl Edwards has described the traumatic moment he watched his elderly parents and brother being pulled from their burning home in Wednesbury, a blaze started by arsonist Andrew Gorrell. The fire, which swept through the terraced house on Monway Buildings, Holyhead Road, in the early hours of May 11, 2024, claimed the life of his father, John Edwards, 82.
The Night of the Fire
Carl, along with his parents John and Doreen Edwards and brother Mark Edwards, were asleep when the fire broke out. He woke to see flames taking hold and tried to rescue his family, but the smoke became too thick. He managed to climb out of a first-floor window onto a flat roof and into the garden, while his parents and brother remained inside.
In a statement read to Wolverhampton Crown Court, Carl recalled feeling 'extremely distressed'. He said: "I was trying to save my parents' lives but the smoke was everywhere and I could not see anything and I could not breathe. I had to get out."
Rescue and Injuries
Once in the garden, Carl did not know what had happened to his family. His father John was soon pulled from the blaze and treated on the ground by paramedics. Carl said he struggled to look at his dad, adding: "I did not know if he was going to make it." He also saw his brother Mark being 'carried out face down'.
Carl was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation but discharged himself to be with his family. John sustained severe burns to his face, arms, legs and feet and was semi-conscious when rescued. Mark, who had rushed upstairs to raise the alarm, suffered severe burns to his hands, feet and face, along with an eye injury, and was found in a 'grave condition'. Doreen was semi-conscious with serious injuries, and there were concerns she might go into cardiac arrest.
Hospital and Aftermath
All three were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Carl said: "When I saw my parents and my brother in hospital in sedated comas, I said to my friends 'if they go, I will go with them'. I was devastated and did not want to live without them." John died in hospital on May 25, 2024, two weeks after the fire.
Carl said he has 'flashbacks' of the ordeal, adding: "We haven't done anything to anybody to deserve this. It was a sudden event which ruined our lives completely."
The Arsonist
Andrew Gorrell, 55, of Moss Grove, Saltney, Flintshire, travelled 70 miles from his home on the English-Welsh border to the Black Country hours before starting the deadly blaze. He did not know his victims, and detectives have been unable to establish a motive. Gorrell was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years, on Monday, July 6, 2026.
He was convicted of one count of murder, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent relating to Doreen and Mark, one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent relating to Carl, and one count of arson with intent to endanger life. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of arson for separate bin fires set in Wednesbury after the fatal house fire, near the Lord Nelson pub, outside Amigos Pizza, and in The Shambles.
