A STOCKSBRIDGE woman has spoken of the moment she awoke to find that her house on Viola Bank was on fire.
The woman, who does not want to be named but is in her 60s, said that she was awoken just before 1am on Sunday January 20. The police suspect arson and have detained a suspect.
Speaking to Look Local, the woman said:
I got out of bed and didn’t even take my phone with me, which I keep at the side of my bed.
I walked into the kitchen where my front door is in the kitchen and saw that my door was on fire. There was no way I could get out of the door and that’s my only exit from the house so I had to climb out of the kitchen window.
I was just in my dressing gown and didn’t have my phone with me so I had to run to a nearby house for help. A lady on Arthur Road opened the door to me and welcomed me in whilst her partner went to look at my house.
He said there was hardly anything left of the door. The insurance company have been really good and so have my friends and family.
The kitchen needs gutting and it looks like it’ll be about six months until I can return home. I’m not sure if it was meant to scare me or kill me. It doesn’t bare thinking about what could have happened to me.
I’m appealing to anyone who might have seen anything suspicious – the person that did it might have darted down a side street in Garden Village and dropped a petrol can or something. Anything anyone saw could help the police, who have also been really helpful.”
The police have issued their own appeal for information. They said in a statement:
At around 12.55am on Sunday January 20, it is reported that persons unknown started a fire at a property in Viola Bank, Stocksbridge.
The occupant, a woman in 60s, was asleep in bed and was woken up by her smoke alarm. Damage was caused to the front door, so the woman escaped the property through a window and was unharmed.
Initial findings suggest that the fire was started deliberately and a 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
Officers are especially keen to hear from anyone who may hold CCTV footage locally, or anyone driving through the area with dashcam footage, between 12.50am and 1.30am on Sunday January 20.
Do you live locally? Did you hear or see anything? Please call 101 quoting incident number 55 of 20 January 2019. You can also ring Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.”
