Darlington Review • Vol.62 • No.4 • May 2022

On a cool Sunday night in mid-October last year, local Gini James heard what she thought were gunshots close to her Glen Road home. She called the police.

“My voice was quivering … my knees were shaking …I was afraid to go outside to investigate but (with the police on the phone) I did – to discover the house next door on fire. I was scared out of my wits! The police assured me the Midland brigade was on the way. Worrying about the threat to my own house, and knowing the fire trucks were on their way, I rang my son-in-law Steve and he came straight away.

“As I evacuated with my ‘fire’ suitcase and backpack to go and stay with daughter Jedra, the brigade arrived and Steve made sure my house would be OK. But I had to come back – I couldn’t NOT watch even though I was still very shaken. This was my sister Ruth’s long-time former home, so Steve and I watched the much-loved ‘Lambert’s house’ burn down.