‘Her home is where her heart is’: Leeds family launches appeal after elderly mum's kitchen destroyed in fire

A Leeds family has launched an appeal to help their mum get back home after a fire gutted her kitchen and left the living room smoke-damaged.

Maureen Knowles’ home in Bramley was badly damaged by fire at the start of September after an incident caused a blaze in her kitchen.

The 75-year-old, whose daughter described her as a “home bird”, is staying with family while repairs are carried out on her home. But without home insurance, the pensioner has been left to foot the full bill herself.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Maureen’s daughter Sharon Hodgson said: “She’s a home bird. Her home is where her heart is. She likes to be at home in her property.”

On September 12, a covered pan of oil accidentally caught fire while Maureen was boiling an egg, the family said. After hearing a loud noise from the kitchen, she discovered the kitchen had caught fire.

“She was in the living room and heard a spitting sound. When she went into the kitchen, the lid was open, and the extractor fan was burning,” Sharon said.

“She got a damp tea towel to cover it, but it was just engulfed in flames.”

Maureen quickly phoned Sharon, who lives just a few streets from her mum.

Sharon said: “I live two streets up from her. She rang me and said, ‘I’ve got a kitchen fire.’

“By the time I got round to my mum’s, there was smoke billowing out of her front door.”

Emergency services arrived a few minutes later, but most of the kitchen had already been destroyed. The living room was also heavily smoke-damaged.

“The firemen said that the old Artex ceiling is what saved the whole house,” Sharon said. “It gave her an extra 30 minutes.”

Sharon and her sister Rebecca Robson have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs of restoring their mum’s home.

Maureen is staying mainly with Sharon, with some meals at her brother’s home, while repair work is underway.

“There was no insurance. She had a little bit of savings - only a few thousand pounds - so it wasn’t enough to replace the kitchen from scratch,” Sharon explained.

“It’s not just replacing the kitchen. It’s all the work that goes with it: the new doors, the skirting, plastering, a new ceiling and kitchen appliances.

“We’ve chipped in what we can. We all work nine-to-five jobs; it’s not that we’ve got a lot of money.”

She said friends and family members have donated and replaced some of her household essentials, but she is hopeful that her mum will be back in her home soon.

“She’s always been that person who helps other people,” said Sharon. “She’s such a kind, generous lady.

“All we want to do is see her back in her own house, happy, because that’s where she’s happiest.”