A mother scrambled to get her two children to safety after a cheap iPhone charger sparked a fire which has gutted her house.
Emma Flaherty, 55, was at home in Warndon, Worcestershire, when she could smell smoke coming from upstairs.
She ran into her 15-year-old daughter Chloe’s bedroom and watched in horror as the bed and pillow were on fire.
The desperate single mother scrambled to get Chloe and her youngest daughter Lola, 12, out of the house.
Firefighters raced to the scene on Sunday afternoon and spent an hour tackling the blaze which largely destroyed the three-bedroom property.
Emma said the fire was caused by an unbranded iPhone charger overheating and catching fire which engulfed the room in minutes.
She is now warning others about the dangers of ‘cheap’ and unofficial mobile phone chargers.
She said: ‘It was an iPhone charger I either bought off Amazon or from a newsagent so it wasn’t an official one.
‘Chloe had put her iPhone 13 into charge while she had a nap.
‘Minutes later it just caught fire and she woke up with her room full of smoke and flames.
‘I shouted to Chloe to get out the house while I grabbed Lola and carried her outside.
‘We called 999 and my neighbours tried to put the flames out with a hose but the fire was just too big.
‘It’s still so surreal in my head,’ she continued.
‘I just had to get my kids out, one who was in the fire asleep and the other who is disabled.
‘My head is all over the place at the moment.
‘A place we built up as our safe place, memories made, laughter shared – completely destroyed within minutes due to a charger lead.
‘Most of the upstairs of the house is ruined by fire or smoke damage and everything else just melted in the fire. It’s devastating.
‘I will never in my life allow unbranded chargers into my home.
‘We are so very lucky. The mother warned others to ‘please keep doors closed, turn sockets off when not in use, and check your fire alarms.
‘Doesn’t stop fires by all means but it confines it to a minimum and saves lives.’
Three Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from the Worcester Station were called to the scene.
Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the flames while Emma, Chloe and Lola, who has mitochondrial complex I deficiency, were treated by paramedics.
Unfortunately, Emma did not have contents insurance so will not receive compensation for her lost belongings.
A GoFundMe appeal which was launched to help the family get back on their feet has raised over £1,000 while a delivery company has volunteered to store any donations for them.
