A family of five returned from a holiday in Saundersfoot to discover their Cardiff flat had been completely destroyed by a fire that spread from a neighbouring property. The father, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they were “so lucky” to have been away when the incident unfolded at Seager Drive in Grangetown in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Arrest made in connection with the fire
South Wales Police confirmed that a 46-year-old man from Cardiff had been arrested on suspicion of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered. The man has been released on bail pending further investigation. Police officers and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the property fire at about 4am.
Family's ordeal and loss
The father told WalesOnline: “We were so lucky we went to Saundersfoot on Thursday. We have the kids with us and our phones were on silent. At 6am then we had between 30 and 40 missed calls between us. We answered and they said you have to make your way home, but don’t rush because there’s nothing you can do at the moment.”
The family arrived home around 8am to find the flats burning. They were later told their flat was unsafe and they could not enter. The father noted that damage to the front of the flats appeared minimal, but the extent of the fire was clear from the rear. Inside, much of the damage is concentrated upstairs.
“If you saw the front of the property, you’d think nothing had happened, literally all the damage is at the rear of the properties,” he said. “Everything belonging to my children and wife was upstairs. All our children's [baby] wrist bands, baby photos, umbilical cords are in the attic. My wife’s wedding dress, the wedding topper, Christmas decorations which we’ve collected, the kids’ nursery drawings… Everything in the attic has been damaged.”
Gratitude for emergency services
The father praised the police and fire services for their efforts. Firefighters were able to recover some of the family’s most sentimental possessions from the debris. “If the fire had gone on any longer our house would have been as bad as [our neighbour’s]. We can’t thank the emergency response teams enough for how good they were,” he said.
The family is currently staying in temporary hotel accommodation but hopes to move into an Airbnb-type property soon.
